Summer Haze
by PlayTheGame
Summary: Stephanie McMahon is burned out and needs a break. Paul Levesque just moved to the city from California. When mutual friends John and Trish offer them refuge in the form of their summer home, can something blossom between the two?
1. Welcome Home

**A/N** - I was browsing through some books in the shop about a week ago and read the back of one. I didn't buy it in the end but I loved the idea behind it and this was born lol. I know I really shouldn't be starting another new story but this has been talking to me more than any of the others so I decided to just go with it. As well as Trips/Steph, this will also feature a couple of other familiar faces along the way. So here's the first chapter. Drop a few comments and let me know what you think. I should have the next chapter up soon!

* * *

><p>"If we could just get that damn Michelson account we could get the Radcliff's on board and we'd be set."<p>

"I completely agree, dad. Only problem is, Michelson is being a God damn bitch about everything."

"Oh, don't I know that! But we've dealt with worse. Once we get him, we can snag Radcliff and then we'll be set to expand into the West Coast and into that California market."

"I think it's great!"

The two men triumphed in their plan for a few seconds before noticing the woman currently sitting with her head in her hands on the couch in front of them. The elder of the two raised his eyebrow curiously. "Stephanie? What do you think?"

Stephanie McMahon gripped her hair a little tighter and sighed. She couldn't do this. She just couldn't do it anymore. Lifting her head and throwing her hands in the air, she got to her feet and looked her father right in the eye. "I don't know, dad. And what's more, I don't care."

Vince's nostrils flared in anger as he looked at his daughter with a face like thunder. "YOU DON'T CARE? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

"Oh come off it, dad! I told you months ago that I needed a break. This company is taking over my life and I can't do it anymore. I've been working double time since Marissa got pregnant and Shane was off. I thought that things would get better now that he's back but no, you have even bigger plans and I just can't do it anymore, dad. I won't."

A look of understanding passed between the McMahon children that was completely lost on their father. Vince puffed out his chest defensively and started pacing around the room. "How is this company ever going to expand if it has no workforce? Just wait until your mother hears about this…."

"Mom already knows and she agrees," she sighed and then walked over to gently grasp his arm. "Dad, I really need a break. You're wearing me out with this. I haven't seen my friends in months, I haven't been on a date, I haven't had a day to just sit and do nothing. I need this," she pleaded with those big blue eyes, knowing that they would do the trick.

For the first time in a long time Vince actually looked at his daughter and saw what she was talking about. Despite her make-up, the black bags under her eyes were evident upon closer inspection and she just looked down right tired. He let out a small sigh and felt his resolve crumble. He glanced at the wall behind her for a second before looking back into her eyes. "You really need this?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Take whatever time you need."

Stephanie smiled and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "Oh thank you, dad!"

Vince grumbled a response as he hugged her back. "Just promise me that you aren't walking out on me for good?"

"Of course not! This company is in my blood. I guess I'll finish up today then?" At her father's nod, she smiled a relieved smile and headed for the door, determined to finish whatever the hell needed to be finished so she could get out of there and figure out what she was going to do for the next month or so. Just before she left the room however, she turned one more time and beamed at her father. "I really appreciate this, daddy. Thank you," she grinned, knowing that would make him smile and it worked to perfection. No matter how old she got she would always be his little girl.

* * *

><p>Stephanie wormed her way through the various sweaty people exiting the room and grimaced. She hoped they were going back to take a shower. Finally bumping through the end of the seemingly endless barrage of people, she walked into the large bright room and spotted the blonde woman at the front talking to a tall man with black hair. "Trish!"<p>

"Oh My God! Steph? What are you doing here?" Trish Cena exclaimed excitedly, completely ignoring the man in front of her and walking to her friend. She instantly pulled her into a fierce hug. "I haven't seen you in forever!" Quickly remembering herself, she hastily turned around. "Alan, we can finish this at the next class OK?"

"Sure," he shrugged before picking up his bag and walking out of the room. Trish's eyes followed him out for a few seconds before she turned her attention back to her friend. "So, what are you doing here? Gosh, it's so great to see you, Steph!"

"Well, I finally convinced my dad to give me some time off…."

Trish's eyes grew wide. "How in the hell did you manage that!"

"I just told him the truth. I need a break, Trish. And if I didn't get one I honestly think I would have gone insane."

"Thank God. I haven't seen you in months. Does this mean we are hitting the town this weekend?"

Stephanie grinned, her eyes twinkling in delight. "If you want to."

"Of course I want to! I actually finish early on Friday so we can go out for an early dinner and then hit the bars right after. Sound good?"

"It sounds perfect. Although, what about John?" the brunette asked curiously.

Trish waved her hand in the air dismissively. "He can have the guys around for poker or something. I'm sure he'll be thrilled." A small smile crossed her lips as she thought of her husband. No doubt he _would_ be thrilled. And no doubt their house would be left smelling of cigar smoke the next day. Her nose screwed up for a few seconds until she noticed her friend staring at her strangely. "What?"

"You went all funny on me there," Stephanie laughed. "Anyways, I just wanted to catch you so we could set something up. I'll leave you to finish up here while I go shopping and buy myself something to wear for the weekend."

Trish instantly pulled her into another hard hug. "Yes! I'm so excited for this. I'll call you when I get home and we can talk some more, OK?"

"Perfect. Talk to you later!" Stephanie waved over her shoulder and side stepped the fresh batch of people who were obviously coming in for the next yoga class. She noticed the slender toned bodies of the various women surrounding her and briefly considered taking it up herself. Then she came back to her senses. She had seen the stuff Trish did in her classes. People just weren't meant to be that flexible! With a smile on her face, she walked onto the busy street and started making a mental plan of where to shop. This was the first chance she had had to shop in forever and she was fully prepared to do some damage.

* * *

><p>Paul Levesque sighed as the heavy hotel room door slammed shut behind him. God damn he hated travelling. Even in first class he just never warmed to it. It was the cramped space he felt, that and the lack of fresh air. Letting out another sigh, he dragged his two huge suitcases over and dumped them at the side of the bed before doing the same with his smaller carry on. Packing up five years of your life into two suitcases wasn't an easy task. It had taken him numerous attempts over a three week period. Basically having one for his clothes and the other for all the crap he accumulated since moving out to California in the first place. He walked over to the large window overlooking the bright city lights and couldn't help but smile. He was a long way from LA now. There were no palm trees here not to mention the streets were grey, glum and wet. Suddenly, his cell phone buzzed against his hip and he pulled it out of the holder, groaning when he saw his mother's name flashing on the screen. His finger hovered over the answer button until he quickly decided against it and threw the phone on the bed. He loved her but she could wait until tomorrow. All he wanted to do now was get a shower, get something to eat and go to bed. But his phone started buzzing again only this time the noise was a lot shorter.<p>

"Damn," he muttered to himself with a frown. But his frown quickly turned to a grin when he saw that he had received a text message from one of his best buddies, John Cena.

_Welcome home man! First order of business? Poker night on Fri with the boys. Call me._

He smiled and nodded his head. A poker night sounded perfect to him. Throwing the phone back down, he tugged the tie from around his neck and headed for the bathroom. Everything else could wait.


	2. Poker Night

**A/N** - Thanks for the comments for the first chapter. I'm glad it has your interest! As promised, here's the next chapter. Once again I hope to get number 3 up pretty quickly as well as a few other updates.

* * *

><p>The large room was filled with smoke and the smell of beer and chips. The four men sitting around the poker table were focused on their cards. Well, two of them were. The owner of the house, John Cena, had just folded along with his friend Dave Bautista. The two remaining players stared each other out across the table, the mood completely serious. The pot was big with just under $400 at stake. The brown haired man almost smirked at his buddies. He had this thing won. His icy blue eyes stared into those of his friend but current competition. He couldn't get a read at all. Finally having enough of the stare down, he pulled the cigar from his mouth and took a long pull of his beer. "So….what you got?"<p>

Paul Levesque looked at his cards, then back at the man in front of him. He had been dealt a shitty hand but played it off. Three Queens. Actually, it wasn't a bad hand but if he knew Randy at all, that little glint in his eye meant that he knew he had the game won. He gently laid his cards face up on the table. "Let's see yours then." His eyes grew wide with excitement as he watched the other man lay down three fours. He won!

"Not so fast there, Paulie," Randy teased, laying his final two cards down. Two sevens. "Flush," he grinned, his hands greedily reaching out to rake in his take.

"Damn!" Paul muttered, his fist lightly thumping the table before he took a swig of his beer. "Way to be a drama queen, Orton. You couldn't have just laid them all out at once?"

Randy smiled and looked up from counting the money in his hands. "Now what would be the fun in that?"

"You're just lucky tonight, that's all," chimed in Dave. "Every other night you get your ass handed to you."

"You wish you could handle my ass, baby," Orton smirked, causing all four men to start laughing. "Speaking of which, when is your fine wife due home, John? I know she's dying to see me. We haven't slept together in a few days now."

John glared at his friend and shook his head. "How many times do I have to tell you that that isn't funny?"

"That's not what she says," Dave grinned, bumping knuckles with Randy while Paul and John just rolled their eyes.

"Don't worry, Randy. When you're finally able to hold on to a woman for longer than ten minutes we'll all start hitting on her too," Paul said as he got to his feet. He waved his hand in the air, trying to get rid of some of the thick smoke surrounding his face. "Fuck it stinks in here."

Randy pocketed his money and also got to his feet while puffing on his cigar. "You act like I want a permanent woman in my life when the reality is far from it." With a smile on his face, he blew a huge puff of smoke right in Paul's direction and gleamed when his friend started coughing. "What's the matter, man? All that California fresh air make you sensitive to a little bit of smog?"

"It's nothing to do with California and everything to do with me not liking it," Paul grimaced, waving the disgusting smoke out of his face. "You do that again and I'll throw your ass over the damn balcony!"

"Touchy, touchy!" Dave teased.

Paul just screwed up his face and walked through the open plan apartment into the kitchen. He saw John pulling some more beers from the fridge and moved to help. "When is Trish due back anyways? I don't think she's going to appreciate her apartment being covered in cigar smoke, man."

"Oh don't worry about that," John replied, twisting the cap off a Coors and taking a pull. "She gave me free reign tonight which means no complaining!"

Paul chuckled and accepted the beer offered to him. "It will be good to see her again. The last time I did it must have been almost two years ago when I came back over the holidays."

"Yeah well, she's excited about seeing you again too. She hated it that you moved out West on us all those years ago," John teased. "She said that she knew you'd come back. And here you are!"

"Here I am!"

The two men clanked bottles before each gulping back a mouthful of the refreshing beer.

"What's going on in here? You two having a party without us?" Both Dave and Randy joined their friends in the kitchen.

John shook his head as he leaned against the counter. "Nah man. We're just talking about Paul being back after all this time and how Trish is excited to see him. You think she's got a thing for you, just wait until you see her with this guy," he nodded his head in Paul's direction. "I swear they forget I'm in the room sometimes."

"Hey now! It's not my fault your wife dated me first," Paul claimed in defense, holding his hands up.

"Say what?" Randy asked, his eyes growing wide. He hadn't known that. "You and Trish dated before they got married?"

Paul nodded his head and grinned at the shocked expression on both Randy and Dave's faces. "Yup. It wasn't anything serious though, just messing around. We broke up and stayed friends. Then I introduced her to John and you know the rest."

"That's fucking insane!" Randy cried, still in shock.

"And why the fuck are we only finding out about it now?" Dave asked, also still in shock.

Paul and John grinned at each other as they walked out of the room together. "Only important people know the important stuff, right John?" Paul called over his shoulder.

"Absolutely!"

The four men once again took up their seats at the table and enjoyed each other's company. They had been chatting and drinking for another solid two hours when the front door clicked open and two female voices could be heard from outside. John glanced at the clock and shook his head. One AM. Where the hell had the time gone? "There she is," he said in a sing song voice, pushing back his chair and getting to his feet. He walked through the apartment until he saw her standing there giggling uncontrollably with a tall brunette. Shaking his head, he approached the two women and smiled. "Hey Steph. What the hell have you done to my wife?"

"What makes you think she did anything?" Trish teased, reaching up to give him a lengthy kiss on the lips before pulling away and making for the kitchen. "You want anything, Steph? I think we have a bottle of red?"

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders and grinned at John. "Yeah why not?"

"She's staying with us tonight by the way," Trish yelled as she got further and further away from them. "Just thought I'd let you….AHHHHHH! PAUL!"

John immediately started laughing while Stephanie looked at him in confusion. "Come on in, Steph," he said, letting her step in front of them as they walked into the kitchen/den area. They walked inside to find Trish practically engulfing Paul in a fierce looking hug. She pulled back and teasingly tugged at his cheeks.

"My God look at you! You look great, Paul. Oh it's so good to see you back where you belong. I knew you wouldn't last out there in California, even if it has given you a great tan! So, are you seeing anybody right now? What's your news? What's your gossip?" She spoke a mile a minute, completely ignoring everybody else in the room as she led Paul over to the sofa in the living room so they could catch up.

Randy sat there dumbfounded. "What the fuck was that?" He looked between Dave and John, his mouth hanging wide open.

"I fucking love drunk Trish, man. She's hilarious!" Dave laughed, forcing a chuckle from both John and Stephanie too.

"That she is," John agreed, shaking his head. His wide was a handful enough as it was. Get a few drinks in her and he could only do what he was doing right now; shake his head in amusement. "Guys, you know Stephanie, right?"

"I remember. How's it going, Stephanie? Seems like you two had a good night," Dave said politely, silently appraising the beautiful woman in front of him. Even though he was taken, it never hurt to look.

Unfortunately his friend wasn't so subtle. Randy let his eyes work their way from her endless legs all the way up to her pretty face, a haughty smirk on his face. He remembered her all right. In fact, he remembered that she had shot him down the last time he saw her, not once but twice. Maybe he could get her to change her mind tonight.

"We had a great night, as you can see," Stephanie replied with a chuckle, nodding her head in the direction of her blonde friend in the living room. "Went for dinner and then out to a few clubs afterward."

"And you didn't manage to get yourself picked up, huh?" Randy asked, slowly getting to his feet and making his way over to her. He leaned his hip against the corner of the kitchen work surface and gave her his best smile. "I'd say there's something seriously wrong with the men in this city if they didn't even try to get with a beautiful lady such as yourself."

John groaned and rolled his eyes. He thumped his shameless friend on the arm and sighed. "Knock it off, Randy. Stephanie is a friend of mine and she doesn't need you fucking hitting on her every damn time you see her."

Stephanie couldn't help but laugh at the exchange. She remembered Mr. Orton from a gathering a few months back. He had tried to get with her back then too although she just didn't have the energy to even think about hooking up with somebody never mind actually going through with it. She placed her hand on John's forearm and shook her head lightly. "Oh don't worry, John. He's harmless." Turning her attention to Randy, she tilted her head and looked at him almost in pity. "I had more than my share of guys trying to pick me up tonight, Randy. But just like you, they all struck out and struck out hard."

"Ohhhhhhh!" Dave laughed loudly, his laughter only growing louder as Orton turned and glared at him. "You fucking crashed and burned there, man. Nice one, Steph!"

Everybody bar Randy started laughing until things settled down by the appearance of Paul who stood in the archway between the den area and the living room. "John, I think you need to take her to bed," he chuckled. "She's starting to ask me the same questions over and over again!"

John laughed along with his friend and made for the living room. "No problem man."

"I think I'm going to take off anyways. I have to meet with some developers early tomorrow so….." Paul left his sentence hanging as he shook hands with John who passed him on the way to his wife. "I'll see you soon buddy."

"Yeah, I think it's time we all split," Dave said as he got to his feet and headed for wherever the hell he had left his coat.

Stephanie watched as the men started shuffling around. She knew Dave and Randy and had met them a few times through John and Trish. But she had never met this Paul guy before.

Paul looked over his shoulder to see John carrying Trish to bed. With a smile on his face he turned around and noticed the woman standing there watching him. He gave a small nod. "Uhhhh, goodnight," he muttered as he walked past her and joined his two friends at the door. With a soft click they were gone. Stephanie surveyed the damage caused by the guy's poker night and gently shook her head. Trish was going to freak in the morning.

"Well that's her gone!" John grinned, reappearing in the archway. "You can use one of the spare rooms, Steph. I'm just going to clean up a little in here before she wakes up and has a heart attack in the morning."

"Good idea," she laughed as she made her way to her digs for the night. "Night, John."

"Goodnight, Stephanie."


	3. A New Day

**A/N** - Thanks for the reviews so far guys. I'm glad you're all liking this! I can tell you that our hero and heroine will be meeting soon enough but I need to set things up first. Enjoy...

* * *

><p>"So this is it, huh?" Paul asked the stout older man standing beside him. His eyes swept over the vast barren landscape and he smiled.<p>

"This is it, sir. As you can see we have already began work on the foundations. I have to say that the blueprints you sent us were incredibly detailed. Whoever did them deserves a lot of praise in my book. In all my years I don't think I've ever seen more meticulous attention to detail."

A small surge of pride welled up inside him and he turned to the man with a little self-satisfied smirk. "I'll be sure to let him know," he said, nodding his head slightly. The truth was, he had been working on the plans for this house for almost a year. After all, it was going to be his home. For that reason he had handled absolutely everything himself, from the type of brick to the type of materials for the foundations currently staring him in the face. He wanted it to be perfect.

"Can we expect you to be a permanent fixture during construction? In my experience, these damn contractors need a good kick in the ass to get them to move along at any kind of pace. I think you might be the motivation they need to get things done," the man said, giving Paul the once over. "After all, it's not every day they're going to have someone such as yourself breathing down their neck."

Paul's head snapped around in amusement. What exactly was he implying here? That he was intimidating?

"Uhhhhh, I mean that in the nicest way possible of course…sir!"

Paul laughed, shrugging it off. "Don't worry, I'll be here often enough so that things get done. And if they don't, they'll have me to deal with and you're absolutely right in saying that they won't want that." He watched as the man nodded his head in confirmation, a pleased smile spreading across his face before he glanced at his watch and frowned.

"Oh look at the time! I do have to get going now. But I'll get my assistant to give you a call and we can arrange a day to run over the plans with the entire team if that suits?"

Paul nodded his head and stuck out his hand. "That's fine. I look forward to hearing from you." The two men shook hands before the elder of the two was on his way. Paul watched him leave for a second before turning back to peruse the area in front of him. Even though it was pretty much just a huge pile of mud at the minute, he could clearly see the home he had planned in his head. His eyes slid shut for a second as he visualized it, even the interior. His mind flowed through the living room to the bedroom and back down to the kitchen. Yep. He had everything planned and drawn up to a T. A rush of excitement forced his eyes open and he smiled. Soon this would be his home. But until then he was stuck living in the damn hotel suite. Ah well, at least he didn't have to cook or do laundry. Suddenly the ringing of his phone interrupted his thoughts. Reaching for the cell phone in his pocket, he pulled it out and with a smirk raised it to his ear. "Hey mom."

"Paul Michael Levesque! Just what do you think you're doing? You've been back for a few days now and you didn't think it wise to call your own mother? I have a good mind to drive down there and…."

"MOM! Jesus Christ will you calm down?" He said with a sigh. If there was one thing he absolutely hated, even at this stage of his life, it was getting chewed out by his mother. God damn.

Patricia Levesque sat down with a heavy flop and a red face in her home in New Hampshire. "I will not calm down! Why is it that I have to practically beg to get my very own son to talk to me these days? Why is that, Paul? I'm your mother!"

"I know mom," Paul rolled his eyes. She could be so dramatic some times. "I've just been busy with the plans for the house and everything. I'm actually standing here right now. It looks great!"

Hearing the obvious excitement in her son's voice, Patricia's cold demeanor instantly thawed and she smiled. "It's built already?"

"No, not yet. I'm standing on the land where it's going to be built but I can picture it clearly in my head, ma. I can't wait for you to see it and I can't wait for work to really get started," he smiled.

"Oh that's wonderful, Paul! So tell me, where are you living now? Did you get yourself a temporary apartment or something?"

Paul nervously scratched at his head, knowing she was going to blow up again. "Actually, I'm just going to live in the hotel until everything gets finished."

"Live in the hotel?"

"Well yeah! I mean, it will cost just as much if not more to start renting out a place. I'd rather stay where I'm at and then move in properly when the house is done," he reasoned, hoping it would throw her off. When she answered he let out a sigh of relief.

"I guess that makes sense. I just hate the idea of you living in a hotel room all alone," Patricia sighed. She was dearly dying for him to meet someone and settle down.

He shook his head and chuckled. "I'm fine, mom. Besides, I did live on the other side of the country all by myself for five years. I think I can handle living in a hotel room for a couple of months just fine."

"Well that's just the thing, Paul. You don't have to be by yourself. It's high time you start looking for something serious instead of all these bimbos you've been dating for years."

"Mom!" he said in embarrassment, looking around self-consciously even though there was nobody else there. "You never even met any of those 'bimbos' as you like to call them. Besides, I'd hardly call it dating," he snickered.

Patricia just shook her head at his remark. "Whatever you want to call it, you've had your fun, Paul. You need to start thinking about you fut….."

"Are we really going to do this now? I thought you'd at least wait until you saw me in person before you started giving me life and love advice. Speaking of which, I thought I'd come up there to see you guys in around two weeks if that's OK?"

"Of course it's OK! I can't wait to tell your father…..and your sister! We'll have a big cookout in the yard. Oh, it's just so great to have you back and closer to home again," she gushed.

He smiled happily and glanced around him one more time. "It's good to be home. I love you mom and I'll see you soon."

"I love you too sweetheart. Bye!"

His finger automatically ended the call before he clipped the phone back into position on his hip. He was really looking forward to seeing his family again. He hadn't seen them since Christmas and it would be great to just hang out in his old home without knowing that he had to fly out and leave them soon. No, not anymore. He was here to stay this time.

* * *

><p>"Mmmmmmmm!" Stephanie moaned as she licked the last remnants of ice cream off the spoon. She looked at the empty tub and half-cringed. That had been a four day job pretty much. A four day job that consisted of pigging out on the sofa and watching practically everything she had saved on her Tivo box. But what a glorious four days it had been! With a satisfied smile, she stretched out her tired limbs and was just about to settle back into the soft cushions of her sofa when the sound of the buzzer ringing made her jump. "Ugh!" she groaned, literally hauling herself out of the comfortable chair and to her feet. "Who is it?" she asked into the intercom, smiling when she heard the voice on the other end.<p>

"It's me! Now move your lazy ass and let me in!"

She buzzed the person in and within minutes heard the rapping on her door. "Hey Trish!"

Trish greeted her friend with a brief hug as she removed her coat and walked further into the apartment. Her eyes instantly grew wide at the assortment of trash littering the coffee table in the living room; empty take out boxes, a few empty bottles of wine, chocolate wrappers and an empty tub of ice cream. She turned to her friend and pointed at the table. "Somebody's been having a little party! Jeez, Steph!"

"What!" Stephanie cried defensively, walking over to the sofa and plopping back down into her comfortable position from before.

"Wine? Take out? Chocolate? Ice-cream? I think all this time off has turned you into a junk food addict!"

Stephanie frowned. "Oh shush! It's my first proper week off. I think I'm entitled to do whatever the hell I want for a couple of days, don't you?"

Trish glanced around the room one more time before turning to her friend with a grin and reaching for the wine bottle. "Well of course. I'm just bummed you didn't invite me along!"

The two women laughed while Trish disappeared into the kitchen and returned with a glass. She poured herself some wine and then settled back into the lazy boy chair. "You just going to pig out forever then?"

"Not forever. I was actually looking into taking a vacation. I can't remember the last time I was away. Some sun, a pool and a Mojito sounds perfect right about now," the brunette said wistfully.

"You know what would be perfect? You could go move into our summer house for a month or so!"

Stephanie looked at her friend curiously. "Really?"

"Yes really!" Trish grinned, nodding her head enthusiastically. "It would be perfect for you. It's right near the beach, it has a huge pool, you don't have to leave the country and John and I hardly ever get the chance to use it. At least with you in there somebody would actually be getting some use out of the damn thing."

"Hmmmm. That doesn't sound like a bad idea actually," Stephanie surmised, running it over in her head. She would much rather spend her time off relaxing in front of the pool with a good book than cooped up in her apartment all summer. "Let me mull it over for a bit and then I'll let you know. Although I'll tell you right now that if I go you probably won't ever get rid of me!"

"That's fine. As long as I get to see you more often I don't really mind," the blonde replied, taking a big gulp of her wine and already feeling it work through her system. She settled even further into the soft leather seat and grinned excitedly at her friend. "So….what are we watching?"


	4. Two For Two

**A/N** - So here's the next installment of this one. I know I'm prolonging their eventual meeting but it's for good reason lol. I don't want to give it all away at once, ha! Enjoy...

* * *

><p>The sound of the knocking on his door made him jump. Paul frowned at the crumbs that fell from the bread between his teeth before wiping them away with his hands. He took a bite from his sandwich, set it back on the plate and then walked to the door munching away. His frown was replaced with a grin when he saw who was standing on the other side. "Hey man! Come on in."<p>

John walked inside the room and let out a low whistle. His eyes travelled over the lavish surroundings. When Paul had told him that he was shacking up in the hotel until his house was finished, he was clearly lying. He was living in the damn Presidential Suite! At least he had to be for it to look this good. "The fuck is this, man? I thought you were living in squalor with the way you described it to me!"

"What? All I said was that I was shacking up in the hotel," Paul said in confusion, clearing a space on the paper ridden table.

"I'd hardly call this 'shacking up' Paul. It's like the fucking Presidential Suite in here!"

Paul laughed and shook his head. "Not by a long shot. It's a regular suite and it's costing me an arm and a leg but hey, it's still cheaper than renting some place out."

"I guess so. How'd your mother take that though? I'm sure she freaked out," John laughed, taking a seat and stealing a swig from the Coke can sitting next to the sandwich. His actions earned him a dirty look which he shrugged off while relaxing back into the chair.

"She didn't actually. But instead she started talking about me settling down and all that shit," Paul rolled his eyes. "She called the other day and started in again. I'm not even back two damn weeks and already she has me married with five kids and a fucking cat."

John laughed at his friend and shook his head in amusement. All mothers were the damn same. "Don't worry man, my mom's the same, they all are. Trish and I have been married, what, three four years now and she hasn't stopped talking about kids since the second we walked down the aisle. I think she's afraid she's going to die before I give her any grandkids or something." Both men laughed, sharing in the other's plight. "Anyways, how are the plans for the house coming along? I'll have to get up and see it at some stage."

"They're coming along perfectly," Paul beamed, the pride in his voice evident. "I'm shooting for early fall. At the minute it's just a huge pile of mud and bricks but soon enough it's going to be the best damn house you'll ever see."

"Cocky much?"

"You fucking know it!" Paul grinned, giving his friend a playful slap on the leg before taking a bite from his sandwich. He swallowed the food and washed it down with a sip of his drink. "I'm telling you though, when it gets finished it's going to look great. I've been working on it for forever man so that it will be perfect. I won't accept anything less and if I have to live like a hermit in a hotel for a couple of months then so be it."

John smiled absently for a few seconds as he was hit by a thought. "You know something?"

"What?"

"Instead of living here, why don't you just move into our vacation home until everything is ready? It would save you money, it's close to the beach and in a peaceful little town. It'd be perfect for you right now, man."

Paul thought about the proposal for a moment or two. A vacation home? It would sure as hell beat living in the hotel for the next few months not to mention give him the peace and quiet he needed to keep working on the plans for his home and also start looking for a new job. The more he thought about it the more he liked it. His head started to nod as he looked his friend in the eye and smiled. "That sounds great, John. You and Trish really wouldn't mind?"

John waved his hand in the air and shook his head. "Nah, not at all! We hardly ever get the time to use it anyways. Although with you down there it would give us an excuse to go visit. It really is beautiful and the little town is great. If you're looking for a place to just chill and get shit done and I know you are, I'm telling you it's perfect."

Unable to find any reason against the idea, Paul smiled and nodded his head once more. "Alright. You got yourself a deal buddy. Although I refuse to go without at least contributing something to you guys."

"Keep your damn money Mr. Presidential Suite! You ain't paying for anything…well, except the food and stuff. That you _can_ pay for."

"You got yourself a deal, Johnny. You got yourself a deal." The two men shook hands and laughed. "So, when can I head down there?" Paul asked, his fingers creeping towards his sandwich again. "There's no point in me staying here any longer than I have to."

"That's true. If you don't mind the place not being spotless when you get there, I guess you could move in this weekend," John wondered out loud, his mind running over the house in his head and trying to remember the current state it was in.

Paul smiled happily. "This weekend? That's great man, thanks! You need to get yourself down for a visit and we can barbeque it up on the beach."

"You're damn right! Awesome. And what's even better than that is the fact that I came over here to ask you out for a few beers. Randy and Dave are going to join us later I think."

"Beers?" Paul glanced at his watch in surprise. "It's the middle of the afternoon, John."

John shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "I took the rest of the day. Now let's go get pissed like we did back in college, man. Or have you gone soft on me?"

"Fuck no! Beers it is!" Paul gulfed down the remainder of his sandwich and grabbed his coat. The two men walked to the door to begin what was sure to be a fantastic drinking session.

* * *

><p>A few hours and way too many beers later, Paul was squinting across the bar in an attempt to find his table. His eyes scanned the room and then widened in surprise when he spotted a familiar head of blonde hair near the entrance. "Trish?" he muttered to himself, suddenly questioning whether she had been there before and he just hadn't realized. He took a moment and then shook it off, grabbing the three beer bottles in his hands and heading towards her. "Trish…..TRISH!"<p>

Trish swiveled her head around the pretty packed bar until she spotted the man currently calling her name a few feet in front of her. A huge smile crossed her face as she grabbed her friend's arm and started heading towards him. "Paul! You get one of those for me?"

"One of…..ohhhh!" Paul grinned, realizing what she was talking about. He shook his head and stuck out his lower lip in a small pout. "I'm afraid not. You're too late, Trish. Buy your own." He was about to walk off when he quickly turned back and started laughing at the shocked look on her face. "I'm joking, I'm joking! Here, bring these to the table. We're sitting over near the pool tables. What are you having?"

"You're so lucky you ass! Ummmm, just get me a beer too." Trish turned to the brunette beside her. "Steph, what do you want?"

Stephanie wore an amused expression as she watched the entire exchange between the two. "A beer is fine." She smiled, turning her attention to the tall blonde man before her. "Thanks." She watched as he nodded his head and then walked back to the bar. Suddenly she was grabbed on the arm and trailed towards a table in the back where she quickly spotted John and Dave.

"Hey! You made it!" John smiled, getting up from his seat to give his wife a kiss and instantly regretting it, the liquor he had consumed throughout the day barreling to his brain. He wrapped an arm around her, almost to steady himself before giving her another lengthy kiss on the lips and motioning for her to sit down.

"We come bearing beers!" Trish joked as she sat down, setting two bottles on the table and handing one to her husband.

"Hey Steph."

Stephanie smiled at John and offered her greetings to both him and Dave. The foursome quickly fell into jovial conversation for around twenty minutes or so when she suddenly realized that that guy hadn't come back with their drinks yet. She wasn't the only one either.

"Where the hell is Paul?" Dave said abruptly, his forehead crinkling in confusion. "I want more beer."

"I…..I don't know actually!" John replied, his head glancing around the area for his missing friend. "He went to get more beers about ten minutes ago."

Trish shook her head. "Ten minutes? Try over twenty. We bumped into him when we arrived. He gave us these beers and then went back to the bar to get some more." She rubbed at her cheek absently. Where the hell had he disappeared to? Her question was soon answered when the man himself appeared at the side of their table.

"Where the fuck did you disappear to, huh?" Dave asked holding up the almost empty bottle in his hand. "I'm running dry here, man."

"You ever hear of legs, Dave? Maybe you could use your own and go get a new drink yourself," Paul joked, a wide smile on his face as he reached for his jacket and pulled it on. "And you're going to have to because I'm leaving."

John frowned. "You're leaving? Why?"

Paul leaned a little closer and nodded his head towards the bar and the sultry blonde currently smiling in their direction. "You see blondie over there? Well, I got myself a date."

"A date?" John scoffed knowing full well what his buddy was talking about. "Yeah right."

"Hey call it whatever you want man, point is I'm going! I'll call you tomorrow!" Paul grinned, slapping him on the back. He nodded at Dave, smiled at Trish's friend who he still hadn't been introduced to yet before hugging the woman herself. "Bye Trish."

"Should I be offended that you decide to take off as soon as I get here?" she pouted, slapping his arm playfully.

Paul shook his head and whispered in her ear. "Nope. You should be offended because I'm leaving to go hang out with another hot blonde instead of you!" He quickly pulled back with a snicker and dodged the shot she threw his away whilst waving over his shoulder. "Bye guys!"

"He's such a fucking pig!" Trish said in mock disgust, unable to hide her smile.

"Hey," John shrugged his shoulders. "He isn't doing anything I wouldn't do." He laughed and quickly flinched when she slapped his arm.

Everybody started laughing as John immediately started sucking up and the group fell back into their earlier conversation, Paul and his _date_ already gone from their minds.


	5. Things that go Bump in the Night

**A/N** - This one kind of jumps all over the place but I think it's easy enough to follow. And you all got your wish lol. Enjoy...

* * *

><p>Paul stood over the open suitcase on the bed and frowned. It just had to happen now didn't it? He had spent the past few hours packing up his cases and finally thought he was finished when he spotted the black pair of shoes poking out from under the chair near the balcony. How in the hell had he missed them the first time around? With a sigh, he looked over the already bulging case and absently scratched at his head. They weren't going to fit. He stood there in confusion for a few minutes, unsure of what to do before finally having enough and squeezing a shoe at either end of the case. He held them in position and hastily flipped the flap down and over, zipping it up just as fast and smiling triumphantly. It looked deformed as hell but at least everything was in there. Now all he had to do was check out and he would be good to go. He was actually looking forward to the drive down. It would take him around two hours if he was lucky and with his driving skills, he'd no doubt get there in under that time. Giving one last look out the floor to ceiling window of the hotel room, he grabbed his bags and started hauling them to the door.<p>

* * *

><p>"Hmmmm, this is so good," Stephanie moaned to herself as she sipped at her fruity cocktail and smiled. She had arrived at John and Trish's vacation home, or more appropriately, <em>her<em> home for the next month or so, earlier today and was now relaxing by the large pool. The fridge had been empty but she wasn't in the mood for shopping and instead bought the essentials for any poolside recreation; vodka, mixers, ice and little straws to put in the glass. The rest of the food could wait for tomorrow. Tonight was for chilling out right where she was. As she lay there, huddled onto a deck chair and watching the sky grow dark, her mind drifted to the little seaside town she had driven through to get here. It seemed lively enough and she was definitely looking forward to venturing inside when the moment struck. Who knows, maybe she'd even have her pick of a few hot men she could take home with her for the night. God knows she was dearly dying for some form of male attention, preferably the type that didn't come from under-sexed and horny club hoppers looking for a quick fuck. Then again, she was reaching the point of being under-sexed and horny herself. She hadn't been on a date in what felt like forever. Maybe coming here and getting away from the city and all the self-absorbed assholes in it would be exactly what she needed. Maybe she'd find herself a nice man from a quiet little town and they could have some no strings fun for the duration of her stay. That thought put a smile on her face and she slurped up the remnants of her glass before shivering involuntarily. It was getting cold and no wonder, the sky was now reaching a very dark shade of blue. It would be full on black pretty soon. She couldn't wait to come out for a peek later to see the place all lit up with the stars. That's one thing she hated about living in the city, you never got to just look up at the stars. Whilst she was here she was going to take full advantage. "Thank you, Trish," she mumbled to herself as she slowly struggled to her feet. "You too, John!" Her head spun for about a second and she shook it off with a laugh. She never could drink too much when it came to cocktails. They always went right to her head. Deciding to linger outside for just a few moments longer, she walked over to the small wall that separated the house from the little beaten path that led to the beach and inhaled the fresh sea air, completely missing the sound of the ringing phone from inside. The phone rang out until the answering machine picked up.

'Hey Steph, it's just me checking in and making sure that you got there alright," Trish's voice rang around the empty kitchen walls. "Also, there might be a slight problem…well, it shouldn't really be a problem I mean, you sort of know the guy I'm talking about already…anyways…yeah, ummmm, John forgot to tell me that he actually told our friend Paul he could stay there for a few months while he worked on his house so you're going to have some company while you're down there. I hope that's alright! If not you can just come on up again tomorrow or something, I don't know but ah, I just wanted to tell you now because he's coming tonight and I didn't want you freaking out when he turns up there. Yeah so, call me if you have any problems. Bye!'

* * *

><p>It was just after midnight when Paul parked his rental car outside the beach house. Talk about getting lost. He had just spent the past two hours going up and down every God damn road there was and all because he refused to use the GPS provided. He was cursed with being a know it all when it came to directions when in actual fact, he didn't know anything! But he had reached his limit and finally decided to cave. Now here he was, rolling up after midnight and he was dead on his feet. He got out of the car and just pulled his smaller carry on suitcase out of the backseat. He would worry about the other two tomorrow. All he wanted to do was get some sleep. Unlocking the side door with the key John had given to him, he crept inside the dark kitchen and squinted, his eyes adjusting to the lack of light in the room. He tried to navigate his way through the unfamiliar surroundings and scowled in annoyance when he felt something tugging on his t-shirt. Reaching behind him, he started tugging back to no avail and then cringed at the loud rattle of something, actually several things, crashing to the ground. He grimaced and let go of his case, turning his full attention to his shirt which was clearly caught on something and started wiggling the material, trying to free it from whatever the hell it was stuck on.<p>

* * *

><p>Stephanie woke with a start, the sudden and loud crashing noise from downstairs instantly waking her from her sleep. The hairs on her arm were stood on edge as she quietly crept out of the bed and walked to the door to the sound of more crashing and muttering. It seemed to be coming from the kitchen. She started to panic, the house was being burgled! Her hands were shaking as she ventured down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. What the fuck was she doing! She should be calling the police right now, not walking right towards whoever the hell this asshole was. Her eyes peeked inside the dark room and she caught her first glimpse of the tall figure fidgeting around in the center of the room. Feeling a sudden surge of adrenaline and rage at the sheer violation coursing through her veins, she tiptoed inside the room and grabbed the first thing her hand landed upon. Moving so that she was standing side on to the man, she raised the frying pan high into the air and swung with full force, involuntarily grimacing at the loud smacking noise it made as it connected with the side of the man's head. He let out a loud groan and dropped to the floor. Stephanie dropped the pan in part shock, part amazement and part pride. She did it! Reaching down, she grabbed the pan and swung it again for good measure, making sure that the guy was out of it before racing to the wall and flicking on the lights. The brightness burned her eyes and she nervously walked towards the groaning figure on the floor. But her heart suddenly caught in her throat when she saw who it was.<p>

"Oh shit!" she muttered, starting to panic all over again when she spotted the blood oozing down the left side of his face from the gash she had made in his head. She stood there frozen to the spot, her hands covering her face. What had she done? "Fuck!" she said aloud this time, suddenly feeling horrible. She leaned down and watched helplessly as his eyes rolled around in his head. She had knocked the hell out the guy! "Ummm, Paul? Paul? You're going to be OK. Can you hear me?" she spoke slowly, shaking her head at the absolute ridiculousness of the situation.

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh, wha…..Shish…Trishhh…..ughhhhhhh," Paul moaned. His head was spinning. He couldn't make out a damn thing, nothing except for the feminine smell of perfume directly under his nose. It was the only thing keeping him from passing out.

"Oh fucking hell!" Stephanie sighed. He was completely incoherent. She leaned right over him to get a better look at the bloody wound on his temple and winced. "Jesus! Oh God, I'm so sorry, I…..you have no clue what the hell I'm saying…_I_ have no clue what the hell I'm saying…" she trailed off in confusion. "I need to call an ambulance!" Her eyes landed on the phone on the counter and she hastily made the call, imploring the medical services to get there as soon as they could. It was only when she set the phone back down that she noticed the flashing red light. She hit the play message button and could only shake her head.

'_Hey Steph, it's just me checking in and making sure that you got there alright. Also, there might be a slight problem…well, it shouldn't really be a problem I mean, you sort of know the guy I'm talking about already…anyways…yeah, ummmm, John forgot to tell me that he actually told our friend Paul he could stay there for a few months while he worked on his house so you're going to have some company while you're down there. I hope that's alright! If not you can just come on up again tomorrow or something, I don't know but ah, I just wanted to tell you now because he's coming tonight and I didn't want you freaking out when he turns up there. Yeah so, call me if you have any problems. Bye!'_

"Now you fucking tell me!" she threw her hands up in exasperation as she fiddled through the drawers and pulled out a couple of tea towels, wetting one under the tap and then moving back to Paul on the ground. She paused for a moment and smoothed back his hair a little. "Alright now, this might hurt a little but…" She pressed the wet towel directly over the cut in his head and gently pushed down on his shoulder when he jumped slightly. "It's alright," she soothed absently. How the fuck was she going to explain this to Trish and John? Hey guys, I just decided to randomly attack your friend with a frying pan in the middle of the night but how are you doing? "Shit, shit, shit!" What a wonderful way to start a vacation.


	6. The wrong foot

**A/N** - Sorry for taking a while with this update but hey, it's here now lol. Hope you like it.

* * *

><p>Paul let out a long heavy groan as his eyes slowly opened. He was lying on something soft with a small blanket draped over his form. His head was absolutely thumping. "Fucking hell," he moaned in pain, instinctively reaching for his throbbing head. When his hand encountered cloth instead of skin, his body jumped slightly in confusion which only caused his head to pound even more and he quickly lay back down, his fingers running over the apparent bandage on his temple. It felt like there was a considerable bump underneath it too and as his fingers swept over the area, he soon found out that all around his eyebrow was swollen up and at that point the fact that he couldn't really see out of his right eye fell on him like a ton of bricks. His face contorted in confusion. "What in the fuck happened to me?" he said to himself, completely unaware of what had landed him in his current state. The last thing he remembered was arriving to the house and after that, nothing. Suddenly a noise to his left interrupted the absolute confusion in his head and once again, acting on instinct, he turned and immediately paid the price. "Owwww!"<p>

Stephanie grimaced the second she saw his face screw up in pain and quickly made for the sofa. It had been some task getting him there but with the help of the two paramedics who arrived on the scene last night, they managed to lay him down and get him stitched up. The fact that he actually needed stitches to close up the huge wound she had left on his head made her feel so ashamed. She really had laid him the fucking hell out! "You might want to take it easy for the next day or so," she said tentatively as she rounded the sofa and took a seat on the coffee table so that she was facing him, setting the pills and glass of water she held in her hands next to her on the solid wood. His questioning eyes instantly threw her off and she gulped hard. Talk about awkward.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, moving slowly so that he was half sitting, half lying on the sofa. He noticed that he still wore his clothes from the night before and if he wasn't mistaken, there were little dried blotches of blood on the chest area of his shirt. He picked at them for a second before looking at the woman before him. It was Trish's friend, Samantha or something. But why the hell was she here? God damn he was confused.

"Ummmm, well…..you're probably going to laugh, you see…." she started but quickly stopped at the completely unimpressed glare that crossed his marred face.

Paul frowned. Laugh? _Laugh_? What in the fuck was funny about this? "I'm sorry but I really don't see the humor here."

Suddenly the many _variations_ of what actually happened started to flood her mind and she blurted out the first one that made any sort of sense. "Oh….sure, you're absolutely right. It isn't funny….I don't….no, no it isn't funny…..anyways, ummm…yeah, so…..you…..walked into the wall," she pursed her lips and nodded her head, absolutely kicking herself at that lame ass reason. Really? That was the best she could come up with?

"I walked into the wall?"

"Yup. You just…..walked into the wall, more like…..more like _ran_ into the wall actually," she added at the incredulous look on his face. "I was just sitting upstairs and I heard….this noise! So I came down and all the pots and pans were on the floor and…and like….right on cue you tugged away from….I actually think your shirt got caught on something….and…..and you tried to pull yourself free and then the force…..yeah, ahhhh, the force of the tug sent you just…_flying_ into the wall at warp speed and you busted yourself up."

There were a few moments of silence as Paul tried to comprehend what this lady was telling him. He had walked, or ran, into a wall and banged his head so hard that he couldn't remember a thing and busted himself open? What the fuck! Stephanie on the other hand, was silently hoping and praying that he bought her story. She let out a huge sigh of relief when his features softened and he looked her in the eye.

"I did this from walking into a wall?" He blinked hard and went to shake his head but immediately stopped himself. "Jesus Christ," he sighed, his eyes dropping to the floor, almost in embarrassment. Way to make an idiot out of yourself in front of a complete stranger.

Stephanie noticed the dropping of his eyes and the slight blush that stained his cheeks and found it incredibly cute. In fact, she found all of him cute. Actually, maybe cute wasn't the word for it. Sexy would be a much better term. She had met him a few times before but never had the chance to see him up close like this. Even though one of them was shut over and they were both slightly bleary, his eyes were fucking gorgeous! His nose was a bit on the large side but in a weird way it kind of suited his face. The thin beard he wore was incredibly manly and she had instantly fallen in love with it. But the kicker was his insanely perfect body. Seriously, she had only seen men as ripped as him on the TV. When the paramedics had lifted him over to the sofa last night and his t-shirt had ridden up slightly, her eyes almost popped out of her head at the sight of the rock hard abs lurking underneath. If she hadn't been so worried about what had happened she would have had a hot flush over it.

"Ummmm, Samantha?"

And just like that she was brought back down to earth again. She stopped her eyes from glaring as she looked at him. "Samantha?"

Paul noticed the attitude that had come out of nowhere and looked at her in even more confusion. "That is your name, right?"

"NO!" she blurted out angrily. Seriously? She had just been sitting there fantasizing over how gorgeous he was, not to mention how terrible she felt over what had happened and he didn't even remember her name. "My name is _Stephanie_," she said as a matter of fact, quickly standing up from the coffee table and motioning with her hand to the glass of water still sitting on it. "I brought you the pills the medics left for your head." She was almost tempted to tell him to choke on them as she turned and started walking away but his voice calling her name stopped her dead in her tracks. She turned and felt her anger momentarily dissipate. He looked dumbfounded. "What?'

"What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here?"

With an annoyed sigh he avoided rolling his eyes and asked her again. "Why are you here? Don't you live in the city? I don't…..what are you doing here?"

All of a sudden he went from dreamy and gorgeous to being a total asshole. What the hell type of question was that! Fucking jerk. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Excuse me?"

She let out a snort at his indignant response. "What are _you_ doing here? This was supposed to be my vacation and yet you turn up in the middle of the night and all this shit happened and….."

Paul followed her little rant for a few moments before his head started to throb again and he held up his hand. "Stop! Stop it! Listen, I have no idea what the hell you're talking about lady. I'm here because John said I could live here until I get sorted with my house. What the fuck are you here for? Some vacation?"

"Until you get sorted with your house? What are you, a bum? I'm here because Trish said I could come to relax while I take some time off from work. This is supposed to be a vacation for me and on my first night I'm already stressed to the max!" she huffed, knowing that she needed to get away from him before she completely exploded. "I held my tongue before but I'm not doing it this time. I hope you choke on those damn pills!" She promptly turned on her heel and stalked out of the room leaving him sitting there with a massive headache and still not fully sure just what exactly was going on.


	7. Round Two

**A/N** - Been a while but I finally updated lol. Hope you guys are still interested in this one.

* * *

><p>It was dark by the time she came back from her walk. She had to get out of the house and get away from Paul. God, just the mere mention of his name and she began to fume. "Just forget about him, Stephanie," she told herself in vain as she walked up the little sand hill that ran from the back of the house down to the beach. Kicking the sand off her sandal covered feet, she continued on and couldn't help the snarl that crossed her face upon reaching the gate. She cautiously pushed inside and happy that he wasn't sitting poolside, walked in and headed for the door. She didn't know what she was going to say to him. Her little walk had done plenty to clear her head and she realized that she had overrated just a tad. To be fair to him, how could he be expected to remember her name when she has just beaten him on the head? But there was just something about him and their whole exchange earlier that made her angry and irrational. She just hoped that she kept her cool when they eventually spoke again. The lights in the house were off when she stepped inside. Stephanie tiptoed through the kitchen and was just about to head up the stairs when she overheard a muttering voice from the living room.<p>

"John! Will you fucking listen to me?" Paul groaned in frustration. He had only just woken up and was in serious need of answers. When Stephanie had left earlier, his head had been thumping. In a matter of seconds he had downed the pills and was out for the count.

"No! You're being ridiculous. Stephanie did not attack you for Christ sakes!" John sighed rolling his eyes. The frantic phone call from his friend was the last thing he was expecting as he finished up work for the day.

Paul began to pace as his hand absently rubbed at his bruised temple. "I called the local hospital before I called you. They said that two paramedics had to come out to the house. I had to get stitches for fuck sakes! You're telling me that you need stitches from running into a wall? No, no, no. This feels like somebody hit me with me something and considering the way she acted earlier on, I wouldn't put it past her to have attacked me, John! She fucking freaked out because I forgot her name. Crazy bitch!"

Stephanie felt a rush of anger so large that it completely consumed her. How dare he? How fucking dare he stand there and rant about her like that? So what if she had hit him with the pan? She thought he was a robber for Christ sakes! With every passing second she spent with the man she was more and more thankful that she had hit him. The asshole deserved it. She listened on as John obviously tried to refute Paul's claims and made a mental note to thank him for not being a complete dick like his friend.

Paul angrily snapped his cell phone shut and closed his eyes for a second as a fresh wave of pain rushed through his head. He couldn't believe John didn't believe him. Now he was fucking trapped here with a crazy lady. He was absolutely convinced she had something to do with his current injury. There's simply no way he had ran into a wall and did this. No way. Letting out a heavy sigh, he opened his eyes and just as he did, he caught sight of her standing in the doorway and involuntarily jumped. Jesus Christ! Now she was a stalker as well as crazy. "Fucking hell," he blurted out, holding his hand over his chest.

"Shit!" Stephanie muttered. She had been spotted. Not that she gave a damn anymore. As a matter of fact, she didn't give a crap about this guy at all.

"What are you doing just standing over there, huh? Trying to sneak up and attack me again?" Paul asked, his eyes glowing with his anger.

"I did not…" Stephanie trailed off indignantly. Despite the fact that she had actually attacked him, her pride was getting in the way. She wasn't telling him what really happened. She didn't think she'd be able to stick to smug look of satisfaction on his face.

"So you're seriously trying to tell me that I ran into a fucking wall and ended up like this?" he pointed to his temple, an incredulous look on his face. Arguing wasn't really going to do anything to cure the dull throbbing in his head but he couldn't help himself, he wanted answers.

She felt her blood boiling and was fighting the urge to walk into the kitchen, grab the damn pan and whack him again. He was infuriating with his accusatory tone and that self righteous expression on his face. Urgh! "First of all, you're an asshole. I just needed to get that out there. And second of all, I had nothing to do with that. Just because you were stupid enough to go sprinting head first into a wall doesn't mean you can blame it all on me. And thirdly…" she trailed off, losing herself in his angry gaze for a few moments. God damn him! Half of her wanted to slap the taste out of his mouth and the other half wanted to jump his bones.

"Thirdly?" he prompted when she stopped talking.

"Thirdly?" she continued, shaking her head to get back on track. "Thirdly…you're an asshole!"

Paul simply smirked. "You already said that."

She inwardly groaned at the pompous look on his face and put her hands on her hips. "So? You're still an asshole!"

"Yeah? Well you're a crazy bitch. How d'ya like that?"

"I AM NOT CRAZY!" she yelled. He seriously had better stop calling her that.

"No? What are you acting all crazy for then?" he teased. What had started out as him wanting answers had quickly turned into him getting way too much enjoyment out of pissing her off. It was too easy! Besides, she looked pretty damn sexy when she was angry. While he still had his suspicions, he wasn't blind. Crazy, angry or something else, Stephanie was still a beautiful woman. But right now she was a beautiful woman staring absolute daggers in his direction.

"Urgh!" She half growled at him. "You're fucking insufferable do you know that? I'm not taking any more of this. I think you should leave."

Paul's face scrunched up and he looked at her in confusion. He hadn't been expecting that. "Leave?"

"Yes, leave."

"Why the hell should I leave?"

"Because I don't want you here and because I was here first!"

He laughed sarcastically and scratched his head absently. "You were here first? What are you, Samantha? Five?" He bit back the grin that was threatening to spread across his face when his words got the desired reaction.

"My. Name. Is. STEPHANIE!"

"That's right. I'm sorry, STEPH-AN-IE," he said deliberately but this time unable to keep the grin in check. His smile quickly turned into a laugh which only served to piss her off even more.

Stephanie glared at him and shook her head in disbelief. Was he laughing at her? "Are you laughing at me?"

"What if I am?" he teased, his eyes now sparkling in amusement rather than anger. His headache had all but disappeared now.

"Oh just grow the fuck up, will you? I said I want you to leave, so leave."

He shook his head with a small smile playing at his mouth. "I'm not going anywhere, Stephy. If you aren't happy with this situation then you can leave. Otherwise, it's looks like we're roomies." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and let the smile fully grace his features all the while she scowled at him.

"Me leave? I'm not going anywhere either, Paul. But just so you know, I plan on using the pool tomorrow at some point. I'd appreciate it if you fucked off and left me to it," she bit back at him, giving him one last glare before turning and stomping off up the stairs in an even bigger rage than she had been in earlier. Good God the man was a total dickhead! She couldn't fucking stand him.

Paul simply watched her stalk off and couldn't help but let his eyes run over her ass and endless legs. He was pretty sure that if she knew he was just checking her out she would come at him with a knife instead of a pan next time. Speaking of which, she was pretty adamant that it wasn't her. Maybe when things calmed down between them he'd be able to find out the truth. That's if they ever reached the point of having a civil conversation with each other instead of biting the other's head off. Not that he was complaining. When he had met her those few times with John and Trish he was instantly attracted to her. But out of respect for his friends he hadn't done anything about it and knew that he wouldn't do anything about it either. The game had changed however. They were now set to be living together for a while. That changed everything. That and the fact that he loved to rile her up. It was just too much fun. He let out a chuckle and plopped back down onto the sofa. He had a feeling things were about to get very interesting around here. Very interesting indeed.


	8. Mind Games

**A/N** - I'm glad you guys liked the last one. I have a blast writing them arguing and fighting lol so I'm glad you enjoy reading it too. Enjoy...

* * *

><p>Paul whistled a tune to himself as he walked along the beach and back to the house. He had woken up early, absolutely starving, only to find bare cupboards and a bare fridge and decided to head into the small coastal town just a short walk away from where the house was situated on the beach front in search of food. His cargo shorts and plain white t-shirt fluttered in the balmy ocean breeze and he inhaled deeply, letting the fresh sea air into his lungs. John and Trish had an awesome place down here, that much was for sure. The company was even better. He smirked to himself as he thought about Stephanie. Their little spat last night had left with him a permanent smile on his face. Oh how he had enjoyed winding her up. He had no doubt that she probably hated his guts. Despite that though, he just couldn't see himself being able to stop. It was just too much fun. As he walked along he caught the eye of a group of women currently huddled around some towels on the sand. He grinned and winked at them, receiving more than friendly glances in return. He was never one to turn down a pretty lady. He also had the funny feeling that him bringing women back to the house would seriously piss Stephanie off which made it all the more appealing to him. He'd have to remember that one. With one final nod in the direction of the women, he continued on past them and started up the small sand hill leading to the back of the house. The grocery bags grew heavier in his hands but he managed easily, walking his way up the hill and onto the path. While Stephanie may have wanted him to be scarce today, he knew that she had to be hungry. There was literally no food in the house at all. Maybe if he offered her something to eat she wouldn't be so quick to bite his head off. Then again, maybe he should just sit and eat the huge sandwich he planned to make in front of her to piss her off. A slow smile crossed his face as the thought crossed his mind. The gate creaked slightly as he stepped inside the back yard and his eyes almost popped out of his head at the sight in front of him. Stephanie lay on one of the lounge chairs beside the pool, her right leg drawn up and clad in a dark red bikini. Her hair was resting over her bare shoulders, sun glasses covering her eyes while she read a book, completely oblivious to the fact that she had left him speechless. "Jesus Christ," he muttered uncomfortably under his breath as all the blood in his body rushed to one particular region. "Fuck!" If he went any further he'd end up with a full blown hard on! His hands gripped the bags tightly as his head began to thump in pain. He turned his back and shut his eyes taking a few deep breaths to ease the dull throb in his head and his shorts. "Get a fucking grip, Paul!" He was acting like some horny virgin 15 year old for Christ sakes! After a moment or two, he felt his body temperature go back to normal and the pain in his head subside. He turned around again, took another deep breath and then started walking over.<p>

Stephanie inhaled the fresh air deeply as she let her book rest against her chest for a second. She felt so relaxed and the air smelled so…so….what the hell? She sat up suddenly, confused at the faint smell of an amazing cologne wafting up her nose. And then it hit her. Paul. She quickly snapped her head around and caught him tip toeing his way towards the door behind her. Was he serious! "What are you doing?"

He pulled up and slowly turned around, completely unable to stop his eyes from wandering over her sun kissed skin. Jesus Christ she was fucking gorgeous and he was all of a sudden kicking himself for acting like such a dick last night. The scowl on her face right now told him all he needed to know about her feelings towards him. She hated his guts and he knew he didn't stand a chance with her. But he was glutton for punishment. So help him but he'd crash and burn shamelessly with her ninety nine times so long as she took him on try one hundred. Clearing his throat, he managed to pull his eyes from her legs and look at her face. "I was just going to stock up the fridge and pantry. I bought food." He held up the bags in his hands and shrugged his shoulders, not quite sure how she was going to respond.

"Oh," she said simply, lifting her book and starting to read again. She had to look away from him before she turned beet red. She had very clearly seen him checking her out and despite the fact that she constantly felt the urge to slap his face, a small part of her had liked the fact that he had been looking. She liked it a lot. Jesus! What the hell was wrong with her? The man was a complete dickhead. So what if he looked hot in his shorts, so what if his shirt was clinging to his arms like that and so what if his hair made her want to run her hands through it? Paul was an asshole and she'd had her fill of assholes. He could fuck right off!

Paul stood there for a second, not quite sure what had just happened. Oh? _Oh_? That's all she had to say? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Oh? He clenched his jaw and turned around, stalking towards the kitchen. He started to pull out the food and put it away, opening a beer and sipping on it as he went along. His eyes drifted out the window to her sun bathing form and his pants twitched again. Fucking hell she was killing him here. He was half tempted to go back to the beach and pick up one of those chicks. He would need to if he was ever going to get rid of this! His right hand reached down and tugged at his pants, stretching them out a little. With a deep breath, he necked the rest of his beer and took off upstairs. Miss. McMahon wasn't the only one with goodies to show. Rummaging through his bag for a few moments, he pulled out a pair of knee length, multicoloured swim shorts and changed into them before heading back down the stairs. He prepared a sandwich, chucked a few beers into a cooler and then walked outside. There was no way he was sitting inside all day while she had her way out here. Not a fucking chance. He caught her surprised glance as he walked to the lounge chair directly across the pool from her and set his stuff down. Oh he had her attention now!

Hiding behind her book, Stephanie pretended to be reading yet her eyes were completely glued to him as he slowly began to tug his t-shirt over his head. She swore he was doing it deliberately as he reached his arms high above his head and then flexed his muscles for a moment before throwing the shirt onto the table beside the chair. Jesus Christ! She let out a deep breath and fought the urge to squirm in her chair at the sight of him. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and she all but forgot about the book, letting it drop so she could watch him properly. He sat down, his movement still slow and deliberate and took a big bite out of an amazing looking sandwich and she felt her stomach growl. Damn him! She hadn't even been hungry until now but good God that sandwich looked good. The man holding it looked even better. What was she going to do? She couldn't eat the food that he had bought, could she? Catching herself for being so childish, she shook her head and scoffed. They were two grown adults for crying out loud, of course she could eat it. "More like one and a half," she snickered to herself before her stomach growled again.

"You want a beer?"

She heard his voice and looked over at him, her eyes drawn to his chest. "What?"

"Do you want a beer?" Paul asked again, holding the bottle up for her to see.

"No," she uttered before she even had a chance to think. God dammit why had she gone and said that! She would love a beer…and a sandwich…and to go over there and sit on his lap. Whoops! She hadn't meant to think that last part.

Paul grinned to himself and shook his head. She was acting like such a bratty child and it amused the hell out of him. He set the beer back down and shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself." He then made sure to catch her eye as he raised the sandwich to his lips and took a huge bite, letting out a moan of appreciation for good measure and chuckling lowly when she turned her head away. He swore this was his favourite activity in the world and he'd only known her for like 3 days or whatever it was. With the half chewed sandwich still in his mouth, he took a swig of his beer and started talking with his mouth full. "You can go make something to eat if you want to," he managed to get out in between bites. "I don't mind."

This time Stephanie turned up her face at him. "You're disgusting, you know that? God, don't you have any manners at all?" she said sharply, glaring at him across the pool.

"I can't help it, Stephy. This sandwich is just soooooooo good, mmmmm," he teased in between further bites and laughed out loud at her angry growl. He knew she wouldn't eat the food because he had bought it and wasn't surprised at all when she got to her feet. "Where are you going?" His eyes took one more appreciative sweep over her body before she pulled on an over sized t-shirt and threw her book down on the chair.

"I'm going to the store. I'll be damned if I'm going to eat any of your shitty ass food!" she bit as she walked back into the house and left him sitting there with a shit eating grin on his face.

Paul let out a happy sigh and leaned back into the chair with his sandwich in one hand and a beer in the other. "Ahhhhhhhhh, I love it when a plan comes together!" he chuckled to himself.


	9. You Know You Want Me

When Stephanie returned, the poolside area was empty. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief, thankful not to have to walk past him. She so didn't want to deal with his smartass attitude. Her eyes caught sight of the various empty beer bottles littering the table next to the chair he had been sitting on and frowned. Then she saw the half full cocktail glass and big blue handbag. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. A cocktail glass and a handbag? What was that all about? She walked slowly into the kitchen and instantly cringed at the loudness of the TV. It sounded like a football or some sort of game was playing. Her body began to bristle with anger and she slammed the various bags in her hand down on the counter top. A feminine squeal pierced her ears and the sight that greeted her when she rounded the corner to the open space of the living room left her standing there with her blood absolutely boiling. The large TV screen was indeed playing a football game but that wasn't the issue. No. The issue involved the blonde skank currently sitting on the other blonde skank's lap. Stephanie's eyes grew wide as she watched whoever the fuck this woman was whisper something into Paul's ear, then start giggling uncontrollably when he replied. "You've got to be kidding me!" she muttered to herself. A huge rush of anger spread throughout her body. She could feel it all the way to the tips of her fingers. But it wasn't just anger. As much as she wouldn't admit it to herself, a sharp pang of jealousy reared its ugly head too. Yeah he pissed her off and yeah she liked to believe that she hated his guts but so help her the man was a fucking God and she'd be outright lying if she said she wasn't attracted to him. Because she was. She was attracted to him way more than she'd ever let on. And here she was, standing here watching some bitch slobber all over him. The whore could fuck off for all she cared. It was Paul she was angry with. If he thought he could bring whatever trash he picked up off the beach back to the house whenever he wanted he had another thing coming. "Well isn't this just lovely?" she said aloud, startling the pair in front of her.

Paul looked up to see Stephanie standing in the doorway with a face like thunder. He bit back his smirk and looked at her in faux shock. "My…..my God, Stephy! I didn't quite see you there. What's up?"

"What's up? _What's up_? Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Stephanie barked back.

"Ummmm, Paul….maybe I should go?" the nameless blonde said hesitantly. She shifted uncomfortably on his lap and her arms absently moved to cover her bare legs.

He looked at her and frowned. "Go? Why would you go? You're going to miss the best part of the game."

"Screw the damn game! I don't know who the hell you are but I want you out of this house, _now_!" Stephanie interrupted, glaring at blondie and pointing to the door with authority. "Get out!"

The woman visibly grew stiff and got up from her comfy position on Paul's lap. She grabbed the white t-shirt laying at her feet and pulled it on, covering her bikini top up and squirming uncomfortably on the spot. "Yeah, I'm gonna go. I'll see you later, Paul." After a small wave she awkwardly scampered past Stephanie and out of the house.

Stephanie eyes followed her out before turning her gaze to Paul. She shot him an absolute death glare and turned her face up in disgust. "What the fuck was that, huh? You think you can just bring your whores back here and do whatever you want?"

"Come on now. Hannah was nothing but a nice friendly girl." Paul smiled sweetly. He stretched his long legs in front of him before standing up.

She fought the urge to check out his chest as he stood before her and instead forced herself to look him in the eye. "Yeah, she was friendly alright. Too friendly if she's willing to sit on your lap half naked when she barely even knows you," she scoffed.

"I know this is probably an alien concept to you but she was just having a little fun. Shocking I know," he quipped back. While she had fought the urge to check him out he did nothing of the sort when it came to her, letting his eyes roam over her from head to toe.

"Very funny. How would you like it if you came back here to find me with some random guy?"

He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "Well gee, Steph, if I saw you with some guy I think I'd make sure I got to see you in action first before leaving you to your business. I certainly wouldn't throw a fucking hissy fit and order the guy to leave."

Her face grew red, partly with embarrassment and partly with even more anger. Fucking hell this man infuriated her like nobody else before. "I did not throw a hissy fit."

"Yes you did but it's alright, I understand," he said, holding his hands up and looking at her almost sympathetically. When she looked at him in confusion he elaborated. "You were jealous, that's all. Completely understandable."

That was the final straw. Any measure of rationality she had left quickly fled with that remark. It didn't matter that there was actually some measure of truth to what he was saying. The fact that he had flaunted it in her face was enough. "Where do you get off? You think you're God's gift to women or something? You actually think I'm jealous of that skank because she was with you? Give me a fucking break!" she snorted in disbelief. The fucking nerve of this guy!

Paul simply started laughing. Despite the fact that she probably did hate his guts, he had seen her checking him out just then. She had tried to stop it from happening but he had caught her. She also had this look in her eyes when she looked at him. Something that led him to believe that maybe contempt wasn't the only feelings she had towards him. She may have wanted to slap the taste out of his mouth but maybe she wanted to do more than that. Never one to back down from a challenge, the only way to deal with this little turn of events was to confront them head on. And it didn't disappoint. Her reaction was exactly what he knew it would be and it cracked him up. Maybe he was shooting in the dark but so long as he continued to rile her up, he didn't care. "Oh come on, Steph. We both know you want me. It's OK. I mean, I think I'm starting to like you too."

Oh. My. God. She was about to have a breakdown. Was he serious? Did he actually just fucking say that to her? And what was with the smug ass look on his face. Her blood was boiling and she could feel herself starting to shake from sheer anger. Never in her life had anybody infuriated her like this before. Never. The man just knew how to get under her skin. He pushed her buttons and then some. The worst of it all was that she actually didn't know what to say him right now. She was completely stumped. No matter what she said he would probably have some smart comment to say back and they'd be back to square one. Yes. The best thing to do would be to simply walk away and just ignore the fucker. He didn't deserve her attention anyways. She burned a hole right through him, snarling at him in disgust before turning and walking away. Her heart was thumping in her chest as she stormed up the stairs and into her room. She grabbed a pillow, stuffed her face into it and yelled as loud as she could in order to relieve some of the pent up anger flowing throughout her. After a few deep breaths she did it again before collapsing onto the bed in a fury. She didn't know if she could do this. Every time she saw him she wanted to cause some form of bodily harm. Yet at the same time, every time she saw him she wanted to do more than that. God fucking damn her body for responding to him the way it did. Her heart beat just that little bit faster when he looked at her and it wasn't just because she was angry. The man was simply gorgeous and she couldn't deny that no matter how hard she tried. Grabbing the pillow once again, she let out another loud yell and lay there, huffing with the world.

Downstairs was a different story all together. Paul walked into the kitchen with a huge smile on his face. That had gone better than expected. Yeah, his actions were probably juvenile but so what? He got immense pleasure from riling her up and had known that having some female company for her to come back to would have tipped her over the edge. God damn if she wasn't sexy as fuck when pissed either. He chuckled to himself as he started to put away the groceries she had bought, putting them all into a separate cupboard from him. He didn't want to contaminate her stuff by putting it in with his, God no. "She'd love that," he laughed out loud, pouring himself a glass of water. He took a sip and set the glass on the counter, his mind working overtime as he thought about what just happened. He wasn't doing himself any favours at all when it came to her but he just couldn't help himself. Call him sick but he loved it when she went off on him. A small part of him liked to believe that she didn't hate him either. If she really hated him that much she just would have left by now. Besides, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that he was baiting her every time they spoke yet she seemingly fell into his trap every single time. She must enjoy their sparring, at least on a subconscious level. She had to otherwise he was pretty sure she would have beat his ass and thrown him out already. He finished up putting the groceries away and an idea struck him. He stuck the two pieces of paper on each cupboard and with a pleased little sigh, took his glass and headed back into the living room to finish watching the game. "The calm before the storm," he said to himself with a smile. Soon it would be dinner time. God only knows what would go down then.


	10. Out of the Frying Pan

**N/A** - For Angela and her persistent bugging lol. I'm just kidding, you couldn't bug me if you tried, haha. I think I'm going to have to eventually give in and give you what you want. I don't think either of them can stand much more of this tbh. Enjoy...

* * *

><p>It was the heavenly smell that caught her attention first. Her aching and hungry stomach let out a loud grumbling growl as the amazing aroma of…something drifted up her nose. "God," she sighed, her mouth literally starting to drool at how good it smelled. After their spat earlier she had taken a bath to calm her nerves and it had done just that. She felt calm, relaxed and no longer wound up by that fucking jerk downstairs, the same jerk who was obviously cooking up a storm and the same jerk that was once again causing her blood to boil. Stephanie took a deep breath and let it out slowly before setting her book down on the bed and tentatively walking to the door. She couldn't stay up here forever and she hungry as hell for Christ sakes! "Time to face the music," she mumbled to herself. Her footsteps were light as her bare feet carried her over to the stairs and lightly down. The intensity of the wonderful smell hit her full force and she audibly moaned while her ears filled with the sound of the football commentators in the background. Whatever he was cooking she was having some and she didn't give a damn what he said about it. Taking another deep breath, she stood just outside the swinging door to the kitchen and letting it out in a quick puff, she burst through the door and her face couldn't help but upturn into a smile. He stood before her in just his swim shorts from earlier with one hand holding the handle of a simmering pan while the other held a wooden spoon that was just about hovering above it. His attention however, was completely focused on the TV where the game was still playing. She bit her lip, watching as he practically bounced on his feet in anticipation of the touchdown about to come. Unbeknownst to him was the fact that whatever was in the pan was starting to boil.<p>

"Throw it! Throw it! Fucking throw the ba….YES! YES! Touchdown bab-ay!" he said to himself, his hand absently waving the wooden spoon in the air.

Stephanie inwardly scoffed. What was it about men and fucking sports? Her pretty face quickly unfurled from its frown when his loud cry erupted throughout the kitchen.

"FUCK! OW! FUCKING HELL!" Paul yelled loudly as the feeling of boiling hot carbonara sauce splashed onto his hand. He immediately set the pan down on to the same hob and threw the spoon in, almost in disgust, before stepping to the sink to run his burned skin underneath the cool water. "Jesu-yeow!" he yelled again upon contact, his body visibly shuddering. He stood there with his hand underneath the tap until he heard muffled laughter from the vicinity of the door. He stiffened in embarrassment and slowly turned around, his head low and expression sheepish.

Their eyes locked and for a brief moment everything just disappeared. Stephanie felt her insides churn with heat. What the hell was he doing to her? Her body had never reacted to any man like this before and the worst part was that she was absolutely fighting it tooth and nail. She didn't want to respond to him. Hell, he wasn't even doing anything here and she was on fire. She held his gaze for a few more moments until they were both interrupted by the loud bubbling of the sauce in the pan. Paul moved to grab it but was beaten to it. He simply stood back and watched as she turned the heat down and gave the sauce a quick stir. It wasn't burned nor was the chicken or bacon within either.

"Yeah, uhhhh…sorry about that…I uhhhh…..I burned my hand," he laughed nervously, completely thrown by her presence. He hadn't been expecting her and just how long had she been standing there anyways?

"I can see that. Seems like this house just doesn't want to be your friend, huh?"

Paul looked at her unsure whether she was joking or being serious. "Maybe. But I'm persistent. I'm sure it'll end up liking me in the end."

She turned and caught his eye once again, knowing that his words had nothing to do with the house and everything to do with her. "And what makes you so sure of that?"

"Oh I don't know," his cheeky smile returned along with his swagger, the surprise of her turning up unexpectedly wearing off. "I think she…_it_…whether _it_ wants to admit it or not, kinda likes me already anyways."

Stephanie rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Of course you do. You don't have a humble bone in your body," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"I said you don't have a humble bone in your body. I'm sure you think everybody likes you and every woman just wants to jump into bed with you."

Paul chuckled at the disgusted expression on her face prompting her to look at him again and burn a hole right through him. "And what makes you so sure of that?" he said slyly, mimicking her question from before. "You know, you may act like you hate me and want to cut my balls off every time you see me but I don't know, Stephy. If you hated me that much I think you would have left by now."

"Stop fucking calling me that," she said pointedly placing a hand on her hip. "And if you think that you being a humungous asshole is going to make me leave this house then you have another thing coming. I'm onto your little game. You think you're going to ruin my time here? No, no, no, no, _no_! I don't think so. If anybody's leaving this house, it's going to be YOU, not me." She glared at him again, trying to fight down the craving deep in the pit of her stomach. Jesus Christ this was entirely fucked up. Every time they argued she felt the longing build deep in her gut. It was as if their verbal sparring was an outlet for something else…something a lot more sordid and something she wanted desperately. No. She wasn't desperate. She wasn't desperate for him or anything he could give her…well…except this food which she was taking with her if she had to fight him for it. She broke their staring contest and grabbed a plate from one of the cupboards behind her.

"What are you doing?" he asked in confusion, finally taking his hand from under the cool water stream and turning off the tap. Like hell she was eating anything he cooked after that little speech.

"I'm putting some of this on a plate and then I'm going to eat it, now move!" Her eyes cut right through him as he came to stand right in front of her, effectively trapping her between the kitchen counter and his body.

Stephanie sucked in a breath when she felt his bare chest practically rub against the cotton of her tank. He was close, so close, close enough to…

"The fucking hell you are," he growled lowly, his deep hazel eyes growing dark as he stared down at her. This wasn't the best move, stepping in so close to her. He could feel her breasts heaving against his chest as she obviously breathed heavily in anger in front of him and it was driving him crazy. Food be damned. He wanted to turn her around and fuck her against the counter but he was pretty sure she would cut his balls off if he even tried. They were in the kitchen after all. Too many sharp implements.

"Just try and stop me," she hissed back at him. She lifted her free hand and pushed against his chest, ignoring the absolute rush of energy that shot through her body upon touching him. Her eyes gazed at the smooth skin of his neck for a few moments and were forced shut as all sorts of nasty images started running through her head.

Paul caught her eyes slipping closed and smirked to himself. He was having an effect on her and a good one at that. Deciding to chance his luck, he pushed against her a little harder as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

Her head began to spin at his hushed words and gentle breath on her neck. She swore he just brushed his lower lip against her earlobe. What the fuck? Jesus this was too much. She was overwhelmed, completely and utterly overwhelmed by the feel of his body, by his whispered words in her ear, by his intoxicating smell hell even his damn food! God, what the hell was wrong with her? She wanted to slap him yet at the same time wanted to drop the plate to the floor and jump his fucking bones right then and there. It was almost on the tip of her tongue to call his bluff and tell him that yes, yes she_ would _like it but in an instant, he was gone. Her eyes fluttered open to find him standing back over beside the hob stirring the sauce in the pan. The plate from her hand had also magically disappeared. When the hell had that happened? "Wha…." She stuttered in confusion.

"If I remember correctly," he began, partly turning his body to face her with nothing but a smile on his face. "You said you'd be damned if you would eat any of my _shitty ass food_ as you so wonderfully described it. I hate to tell ya sweetheart but this," he held up the pan and wiggled it about for good measure. "This right here is my shitty ass food and you aren't getting any of it." With everything in him he bit back the onslaught of laughter dangerously threatening to burst forth from within him at the ghastly look on her face. "If you'll just turn around and look over there you'll see that I labelled our respective cupboards. Mine's is in the one labelled '_Paul_.' Yours is in the one labelled '_Stephy_.'

Stephanie read the big white label to her right and instantly felt her unbridled anger towards this insufferable man explode to the surface. _Stephy (AKA: Man beater and psycho BITCH!)._ That's what the label read. Man beater and psycho bitch, actually, BITCH, in capital letters. Her body literally began to shake with anger and when she turned around he was already sitting at the table with the biggest shit eating grin on his face as he took a bite of the chicken hanging from the fork in his hand. The empty pan was poking out from the sink with its contents currently piled up on his, no wait, _her_ plate!

"I'm sure you'll find something to eat in your little cupboard there. I'll just enjoy my pasta." He winked and took a gulp of water before completely ignoring her and continuing on with his meal.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths. _Deep breaths_. Her fists clenched hard at her sides. So help her God she wanted to walk over there and wipe that fucking smirk of his fucking face. Gah, she was so angry to the point where she could literally _feel_ the anger coursing through her veins. She had to get out of there before she did something stupid and quite possibly killed him. Oh but it would be worth it and then some. Then she'd eat his pasta and chuck the leftovers over his stupid dead body! With a surprising calmness, Stephanie turned and exited the kitchen without making a scene. She walked right to the door, grabbing her jacket and purse on the way and made for the little hill that would take her to the beach and into the town. There were plenty of restaurants and places she could find food and hopefully something to drink. The thought of going back to the house later infuriated her. If she had to she may as well stock up on some Dutch courage beforehand. It was the only way she was going to get through living with that jackoff. With a steely determination and radiating anger in her step, she headed into town and set about finding somewhere for dinner, ignoring the calls in her brain to just go back and smash a plate over his head. Fuck him. _You'd like that wouldn't you?_ His whispered voice echoed through her mind and she shook her head in annoyance. Now he was taking over her damn thoughts as well as her vacation, the bastard. This was doing nothing but keeping her angry. She gradually came to a stop and took a seat on the small wall separating the beach from the sandy path. Her eyes slid shut and she let the calming sound of the waves slapping against each other filter through her senses, slowly bringing peace to her mind. Yes, getting out of that house had been the best thing she'd done all damn day.


	11. Almost into the Fire

**A/N** - Thanks for all the reviews to the last one guys. I'm glad you're all enjoying this lol. This chapter is a bit short but it keeps things rolling for now. Happy reading!

* * *

><p>Spinning. Spinning. Everything was spinning. The sky…the stars…the ground. Was that her feet? Yes, yes it was her feet and they were walking in the most haphazard of fashions too. "Why am feet walk like a tha?" Stephanie mumbled to herself as she staggered down the sand hill. She was forced to stop and pulled up quickly for fear of puking her guts up all over the place. God, why the hell had she drunk so damn much? Oh wait, she was coming home to the biggest asshole on the face of God's green earth, that's why. Even in her drunken state she still felt that all familiar tingle shoot throughout her body. It was a mixture of pure anger, rage and complete and utter lust. She had come to terms with the fact that even though, in her mind, she wanted nothing to do with him, her body betrayed her every time they were in close proximity to one another. All this of course was before she had spent a small fortune on margaritas. Now the only thing she could think about was getting back to the house in one piece and making it up the stairs without him noticing that she was drunk off her ass. "Not that drunk," her lethargic voice carried into the wind. She was so fucking tired. The sand at her feet was looking pretty good right about now but she was almost there. Her unsteady feet took a few more steps and the sight of the small fence caused her heart to soar. Just a few more steps and she would be home.<p>

* * *

><p>Paul absently trailed his fingers over the small red patch on his hand. He was sporting quite the war wound from getting burned earlier on and really was starting to believe that this damn house was against him. His eyes flicked over to the clock on the mantle. It was just after midnight. She still wasn't home. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath. It wasn't his place to worry. Not that he was worrying mind you. No. He was just concerned…as a friend. Well, not that he was her friend but…as her roommate. That was it. He was just a concerned roommate. After all, she had left before seven and that was over five hours ago. Any rational person would be worried…concerned… if somebody had been gone for that length of time. Besides, he was pretty sure that if anything happened to her he would never hear the end of it from either Trish or John. He made a mental note to call them tomorrow just to check in as he got to his feet and switched off the TV. Stephanie was a big girl and judging from her attitude towards him he was more than sure that she could handle herself. Flicking off the light in the living room, his big hand scratched at his bare stomach as he made for the stairs, that was, until he heard a faint scratching noise coming from the back door. His senses were instantly on high alert and he cautiously and quietly walked through the kitchen to confront any possible intruder when his body dropped and an amused smile crossed his face. "And what time do we call this, huh? Hot date keep you back?" he quipped as he gave the door a sturdy tug. He was expecting the usual tongue lashing that followed practically everything he said to her but he wasn't expecting her to fall right into his arms the second the door opened. "Woah!" He easily gathered her up and recoiled at the strong stench of alcohol on her breath. She was drunk!<p>

"Hellooooo," Stephanie smiled sweetly up at him, her eyes completely glazed over and brain already half asleep. A heavenly smell invaded her nostrils and she inhaled deeply, even going so far as to stick her face in what she perceived to be his neck and nuzzling against it. "Hmmmmmm, smells nice."

There was a brief moment where everything stood still until Paul erupted into laughter. She was completely smashed to the point where she was actually sniffing him instead of trying to castrate him.

"Arms are so hard…but so soft…how they hard and..and soft at same time?"

Her jumbled question combined with her once again taking a sniff at his neck was just too much and Paul had to struggle to keep them both on their feet. He was literally laughing his head off but knew that if he laughed too hard he would end up dropping her. "It's quite the mystery isn't it?" he managed to get out, carefully trailing her inside the kitchen and pushing the door shut. He balanced her with one arm and locked up with the other before propping her up against his shoulder again and slowly began walking her towards the stairs. This was going to be fun. He pondered how to go about getting her up to her room when he felt her stare burning into the side of his head. Turning to face her, he felt his breath catch in his throat. Her eyes were glazed, cheeks flushed and make up slightly messy but she looked like perfection to him.

"You're so pretty," Stephanie muttered, affectionately patting his face before cuddling into his side.

Paul stood there motionless. Did she just call him pretty? Yes, she was completely piss face drunk. Shaking his head in amusement, he decided there was only one way to get her up the stairs safely. He scooped her into his arms and within seconds had lay her down on her bed. He bit back the chuckle that threatened to slip out at the loud sigh that filled the room when her head hit the pillow. She crawled up the bed and he debated whether to change her into her pyjamas or not but wisely decided not to. Things were already going to be awkward enough when she woke up in the morning, something that he was fiercely looking forward to by the way, without her waking up without her clothes on. Instead he tugged off her heels, gently removed her jacket and tucked her in before leaving the room and heading back to his own. Oh things would most definitely be interesting come the morning and as Paul climbed into his own bed he filled his mind with that thought rather than focusing on the flutter he felt in his chest when she had taken his breath away just a few moments prior.


	12. I Feel Pretty

**A/N** - I'm a day or 2 late but I keep my promises, right Angela? Lol. This one is for you, haha. Also, thanks to everybody for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this one.

* * *

><p>Stephanie garbled out a deep groan at the piercing light that greeted her upon opening her eyes. "Dear lord," she muttered, her arm rising to try and block the rays from burning right through her retinas. That's what it felt like. She sat upright in the bed and instantly regretted it as her head began to spin. Holy fuck what a hangover this was going to be. Falling back down to a lying position, Stephanie took a few deep breaths before slowly rising back up again and swallowing down the nausea in her throat. With careful and cautious movements, she swung her legs over the bed and mentally prepared herself to stand up. She did and was surprised to feel steady enough on her feet. What in the actual fuck had she drank last night? Fucking $2 margaritas. A few guys had approached her at the beginning of the night but quickly backed off when they saw that she was in no mood for male company. Just look at the state of her and it was all thanks to that fucker probably sitting downstairs with another floozy on his lap.<p>

"Oh shit!"

Her hand covered her mouth as it suddenly dawned on her. How the hell had she got to her room? She remembered paying her tab, walking or staggering, back to the house, the kitchen door being stuck and then nothing. Her eyes darted around the room in alarm, looking for any clue as to what happened the night before when she saw a bottle of water and piece of paper sitting on the little alcove under the window. She slowly walked over and lifted the paper only to have two small white circular pills fall onto the solid wood.

_**Thought you might need these for when you wake up. **_

_**PS – I hope you **__**don't**__** choke on them. **_

Her eyes flitted from the note to the pills to the water bottle and back to the note again. The bottle was still dripping with water down the sides so he must have put it there not too long ago. With that thought came another one entirely. He had been in her room! He had seen her sleeping! God! The pervert probably took a really good look and all. She considered that for a moment and then shook her head. She was being silly. He had left her some Advil and some water because he knew she would be hurting this morning. Despite the fact that she hated his guts, she had to admit that it was a pretty sweet gesture. With him being in her room and all though, she wondered what else he had seen last night as she quickly downed the pills, pulled on her robe and quietly made her way down the stairs.

"What?" she muttered absently into the silence. The whole house was still, TV turned off, no mess, nothing. Stephanie rubbed at her forehead as she walked through the living room into the kitchen. A coffee cup sat on the table and she could see one plate still dripping with water as it stood in the holder on the sink. It had obviously been washed not that long ago but the man who had done so was nowhere to be found. Where the hell was he? Turning her attention to the pool and back yard area, she walked outside and once again came across nothing. Had he actually left? Her stomach dropped at the thought no matter how much she tried to stop it from doing so. Had he? As she turned to go back inside she spied only her car parked in the drive off to the side. His car was gone, he was gone and she was confused as hell.

* * *

><p>"So as you can see, we're actually coming along ahead of schedule," the rotund, balding man said to the slightly intimidating owner of the property as they walked along the site. This was his first time meeting him and he had never seen a guy so big in his life.<p>

"That's great to hear," Paul smiled happily at the building contractor, his eyes not leaving the view in front of him. His house now had proper foundations and the woodwork for the frame was also starting to piece together too. "When do you think you guys will have the frame fully up? I need to give the roofers an estimated date for when they can start work."

"I'd say around 5 days, sir. If the weather stays like this we'll stay ahead of schedule too. I also brought in a few extra guys to keep things moving along."

Paul finally pulled his gaze from his future home and smiled at the man beside him. "You keep this up and I'll throw in a bonus when everything gets done. I…." The sudden feel of faint vibrations on his upper thigh mixed with the high pitched ringing of his cell phone cut his sentence short and he mouthed an apology before bringing the phone to his ear and stepping away. "Paul Levesque."

"Hey man, what's up?"

His formal tone quickly dropped and a genuine smile crossed Paul's face at the sound of his best friend's voice down the line. "Not a lot. I'm just at the building site. I have foundations, woot! Things are coming along nicely."

"That's awesome. When do you think it'll be ready? I can't wait to see it. The way you're talking about it I'm expecting it to be the best house ever built," John chuckled.

"It _will_ be the best house ever built and don't worry, I'll be throwing a house warming party as soon as it's finished. Gotta break her in you know?" Paul felt a stirring in his pants as his mind immediately went to thoughts of something, or rather someone, else he'd like to have a go at breaking in.

John frowned at the silence he got in response to his question. "Paul? PAUL!"

"Sorry, what?"

"I said how are things going at the house. Any more ridiculous attacker bullshit you want to tell me about?" He still couldn't believe that Paul actually thought Stephanie tried to attack him. He had known her for years and she was one of the sweetest women he had ever met.

Just hearing her name brought a cheeky smile to his face and Paul grinned, his smile coming through in his tone as he spoke. "Nothing at all. We're getting along just fine actually." This time silence greeted Paul and he frowned. "What? You don't believe me?"

"No actually I don't. You sound….weird."

"I do not sound fucking weird. Trust me, we're almost friends."

John could hear the smile in the other man's voice and instantly knew he was talking bullshit. He had also been privy to a pretty agitated voicemail his wife had received from Stephanie herself. To put it mildly, she wasn't impressed with his buddy at all. "Almost friends?"

"Yes, almost friends," Paul nodded. "In fact, I quite think she likes me."

"You're so full of fucking shit," John laughed. "But it doesn't matter. I'll be seeing for myself just how good of friends you are this weekend when Trish and I come down there for a visit. We figured we may as well get some use out of the place while we have such awesome company already down there."

Paul smiled at that bit of news. It would be fun to have John and Trish down. They could all hang out together and just chill by the pool. "I'm looking forward to it, man. I'll stock up on some Coors for when you get here."

"You know me so well," John grinned. "Anyways, I just wanted to call and let you know that we're coming. I guess I'll call you again later in the week to confirm the details and all that. Have fun with your almost friend until we get there."

"Oh I intend to."

"Paul…"

"What!"

"Nothing," John laughed. "See you soon, buddy."

Paul said his goodbyes before sliding the phone shut and turning back to the house again. This weekend was sure to be all sorts of fun. Speaking of which, he had to get back and see how Stephanie reacted to his little note. He also had to think of all the ways he could tease her for being drunk off her ass last night too. There would be plenty of time for that on the long drive back to the beach house.

* * *

><p>It was almost dark when he pulled his car into the drive. Paul took a deep breath of the fresh sea air wafting in from over the hill as he casually strolled to the back door. It was unlocked and he walked inside to find the kitchen empty. The lights were on though and a few dishes in the sink. Chucking his keys on the table, he grabbed a beer from the fridge and headed on through to the living room where he could hear music coming from the TV. As the large screen came into sight he quickly realized that the music was coming from somewhere else because the TV was off. His hazel eyes travelled over the room and softened when they spotted what they were looking for. Stephanie lay curled up on the sofa, an afghan draped over her legs, a glass of red wine in one hand and a book in the other. Paul took a moment to just stare at her with the benefit of not being seen. She really was absolutely fucking stunning. A complete knockout and probably the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He absently crunched his water bottle between his fingers and cringed as the loud sound echoed across the room. All of a sudden, a surprised pair of blue eyes were staring back at him and he smiled sheepishly as he walked further into the room. "Hey."<p>

Stephanie sat there not really knowing how to respond. Was he actually greeting her? "Hey…" she replied, almost like it was a question.

"Reading I see," Paul gestured with his hand to the book in hers as he came to a stop in front of the loveseat adjacent to the sofa. "And some wine."

Her eyes narrowed at his last little observation. What was he, Captain Obvious? "Yes," she muttered in annoyance. "What's it to you?"

"I'm just surprised that's all, given your delicate condition and everything."

"Delicate condition?"

He nodded his head and sat down, relaxing back into the soft leather while his eyes twinkled in amusement. "Yep. You don't remember last night?"

A deep pang of dread washed over Stephanie as she set the wine glass down and dropped her book to her lap. What was he getting at?

Paul couldn't stop the little chuckle from escaping at the part disgusted, part pissed off and part embarrassed look on her face. "I did have to carry you to your room, you know. That was after you called me…pretty I believe it was. That's right, you called me pretty. And just so you know, I think you're pretty too." He ended with a cheeky wink and a shit eating grin. He had thought about letting the night pass without any comments but when he saw her he just couldn't help himself. Winding her up was just too much fun.

Her cheeks were glowing with embarrassment as she tried her best to glare at him. She called him pretty? Oh dear lord kill her now. Why the hell did her drunk self have to go and do something so freaking stupid! She fought down the tiny voice in the back of her head telling her that her drunk self was only telling the truth. She did find him pretty. Actually, she found him sexy as hell and wanted nothing more than to walk over and sit on his lap in that chair but she'd never allow herself because no matter how badly she may want him, if she even wanted him that is, he was too much of a complete asshole to ever merit getting in her pants. In a way, she was punishing herself to punish him. Wait. She didn't know that he even _wanted_ to get in her pants. He was just being an asshole because plain and simple, he is an asshole. "I was very obviously drunk. I'd never say that under normal circumstances. You disgust me."

Paul laughed out loud at her comment. "You know, they say that people let out their true feelings when under the influence. I don't know, Steph. I think you might indeed find me pret…"

"I do not find you fucking pretty OK! God. What type of man wants to even be called pretty anyways?" There was a beat before she threw the afghan off and stood up with wine and book in hand. "I don't need this crap. Trust you to ruin what was a great day up until now. I'm going to my room."

"You sure you don't need a hand to get up there again?" Paul called and doubled over when a loud, 'FUCK YOU!' was hurled back at him as she stormed away in a rage. She was just too much. "Ah well," he muttered aloud. "At least I got the TV to myself now." With a grin, he moved over to the couch, kicked his feet onto the coffee table and settled down for the night.


	13. Dark Is A Four Letter Word

**A/N** - Once again, Angy, I guess I'll have to dedicate this one to you even if you probably won't want me to, haha. Sorry! It will happen though, just not now. Thanks for all the reviews peeps. They are much appreciated. Enjoy...

* * *

><p>The hall was dark as she crept out onto the landing. A slight chill ran over her bare legs and she absently pulled her arms around herself. She was dying for a drink of water but out of foolish stubbornness had stayed sitting in her room for well over an hour because she didn't want to have to go near <em>him<em>. She just fucking….ugh! She couldn't even think about him without feeling her blood boil. And now she was angry again.

"Ooomph!" Stephanie almost stumbled back as she walked right into a hard chest but was quickly caught and pulled against said hard chest. Her eyes slowly travelled up his thick neck, over his chin, his mouth and finally into his deep brown eyes which were sparkling back at her.

"Hello," Paul smiled simply, absolutely loving the feel of her body pressed against his skin. He had been watching TV but decided to call it a night. Luckily for him, somebody hadn't been paying attention to where they were going and had collided with him on his way back to his room.

Breathe. Deep breaths. Stephanie was speechless. Her body was on fire at being pressed against his. Jesus he felt good and he smelled incredible. He also hadn't made any move to push her away and that amused yet sexy little smirk on his face was driving her wild. "Um….hello….I was just…..just….going for a…..for some water and then….."

"And then I almost bowled you over, right?" he chuckled lightly, letting his hands slowly run down her back and even chancing a feel of her hips. "Sorry." His expression suddenly grew serious when he caught her eye and held her simmering gaze. Holy fuck. Was it just him or was there an actual electrical current running between them here? It was so tangible he could feel it.

"I guess so…yeah." She was fighting with herself not to close her eyes and just lean into his neck for a sniff of his wonderful scent. In the back of her mind she had the strange feeling that she had already done that. Maybe she was just distracted by him and the fact that he still hadn't let go and now that she thought about it, she hadn't pulled her hands away from his bare chest either. So help her she was on a slippery slope here, an incredibly dangerous slippery slope. All of a sudden, she felt cold as he stepped back and motioned with his hand for her to pass but she was glued to the spot.

A few moments passed before Paul tilted his head in slight confusion. "Don't you want to go get your water?"

No, actually, no she didn't. What she wanted to do was push him back against the wall and have her evil way with him. Fuck, what the hell was happening to her? She could literally feel herself throbbing in anticipation. Anticipation of what? It's not as if he was still standing there and only just let go of her because he was going to do something…was it? He didn't even like her for Christ sakes! Stephanie took a deeper look at him and all of a sudden it dawned on her, maybe he did like her. His cheeks even looked slightly flushed not to mention the fact that while he had taken a step back, he was still very much within her personal space. With that thought came another one. Why the hell did he have to act like a complete immature dick to her all the time? Now she was angry again and without a moment's hesitation blurted out the first thing that came to her head. "Don't you want to fuck off out of my way so I can get it?"

Paul scoffed and shook his head. Was she serious? He swore she had literally been salivating over him a second ago and now she was back to being a bitch again. "Why don't you make me?"

"Oh grow up, Paul! What are you, five?"

"How about you come over here and I'll show you that I'm all man."

She tried not to blush at the obvious invitation and rolled her eyes instead. "Does this crap work on all the other women with the misfortune of meeting you?"

"Most of the other women who have the misfortune of meeting me aren't miserable uptight bitches."

That was it. She had literally reached her limit and felt something inside of her flat out snap. She was almost shaking as her eyes blazed a hole right through him. "You better stop calling me a bitch," she warned as she took a step further and wagged her finger in his face. "I'm not and I fucking hate your guts. I hope you…." She was stopped in her tracks by the feel of his mouth pressed against hers. In a split second she was trapped between the wall and his body as he cupped her face with one hand and kissed her hard. She let out a moan of…something. Shock, desperation, pleasure? Her hands rose in an attempt to push him away but it was a worthless effort as she thumped on his chest softly before forgetting herself and wrapping them around his neck to pull him closer, her body completely betraying her as she kissed him back with everything she had.

Paul slammed his other hand next to her head on the wall and pushed himself against her. The taste of her was driving him insane and the shock of it all was that she was actually kissing him back instead of slapping him in the face. Talk about a pleasant surprise. His tongue tied with hers until he could hardly breathe and he pulled back slightly, his teeth tugging on her lower lip before he dipped his head to her neck. His hands took on a mind of their own and started running up her thighs, along her hips and eventually to her ass where he pulled her off the wall and crushed her pelvis against his. Her throaty moan disappeared into his mouth as he captured her lips once more, this time grasping her head and angling it so he could kiss her more deeply. Fuck he was about ready to burst here. He was hard as a rock and they hadn't even done anything yet.

"Mmmmnoooo….sto…..stop…no!" Stephanie let out breathlessly, finally working up the courage to push him off her. What the hell was she doing? Her eyes dropped to the floor and she breathed heavily, still under the haze that had fallen upon both of them. She chanced a quick glance up and was relieved to see that he was breathing just as heavily as she was, albeit, with a look of total confusion on his face. She breathed in deeply and lifted her head, this time meeting his confused gaze.

"What's wrong? I….I thought you wanted this…" Paul said lowly. God knows he did. It was taking everything he had not to kiss her again. So help him but the taste of her lips would forever be engrained in his memory. She tasted like heaven and he wanted the full thing, wanted it more than he was willing to let himself believe. This had all been a game to him up until now. All the teasing and the annoying and all the rest of it. Sure, he'd end up getting some ass at the end of it all if he played his cards right but standing there looking in her beautiful blue eyes, he could feel something stirring within him. He just didn't know what the hell it was.

Stephanie grimaced. She'd be damned if this wasn't awkward as fuck. The truth was, she did want it. She wanted him. But she wasn't about to give in and fall into his bed so easily. She had never felt more torn in her entire life. Never before had she wanted to sleep with a man as much as she wanted to sleep with Paul but at the same time, she didn't think anybody had ever truly gotten under her skin quite like him before and not in the good way either. He absolutely infuriated her and she just couldn't let this go any further given how torn and confused she was no matter how badly her body was screaming at her to give in.

"Stephanie?"

The simple fact that he called her by her real name for once and with such a gentle tone behind it too was enough to make her chest grow tight. She looked him in the eye and lightly shook her head. "I….I can't. I just can't…..I…." Her words were a jumbled mess which was appropriate considering her mind was a jumbled mess too.

Paul frowned as he watched her turn and walk away. What the hell had just happened?


	14. Friends Upon Friends

**A/N - So it turns out I haven't updated this thing since August of last year. Wow. I had no idea it had been that long. Anyways, here you go and I apologize for the lengthy delay. Enjoy the madness...**

* * *

><p>Paul set the heavy crates of beer down on the table with a thud, the bottles clanking off one another and creating quite the racket. Two bottles of white wine quickly joined them along with a bag of various snacks. He had called into the store on the way back from the site this evening because he knew John and Trish were coming in the morning. The beer was for him and John while the wine was for Trish and…Stephanie if she decided to grace them with her presence. She had been on his mind all damn day and he wasn't any bit the wiser than he was this morning concerning their…situation. He didn't know what was going on and rather than stick around in what would no doubt be a very uncomfortable atmosphere, he took off early to be on site and participate in the developments at his house instead. He had been dreading coming back to said uncomfortable silence and left it as long as he possibly could before arriving back at the house. His plan seemed to have worked for his companion was nowhere to be found. The lights were off downstairs and the house was quiet.<p>

Lifting the beer crates, he moved swiftly and deposited them inside the drinks fridge to get nice and cold for tomorrow. He hated warm beer. His eyes caught sight of the wine bottles still sitting on the table and he threw them in too before putting the snacks into his cupboard. A hearty chuckle escaped him when he saw the tag he had attached to Stephanie's cupboard still there. He was amazed she hadn't ripped it off and tried to ram it up his ass truth be told. Maybe she liked it. Given what went down between them last night, he guessed not. Fuck he was confused. They had made out, _seriously_ made out, in the hallway to the point that he had his hands on her ass and she was grinding into him. Then she had pushed him away and ran back to her room. The woman was a walking headache not to mention constant cock tease. He was beginning to regret all the shit he pulled on her for the very fact that now he most definitely wasn't going to get to sleep with her, not if last night was anything to go by. To make matters worse, they had to fucking live together for the foreseeable future. And to make matters even worse than that, he hadn't had sex since that chick in the bar a couple of weeks ago and he was stuck in this house with a woman, a beautiful woman who he wanted to bed more than anything and she hated his guts. Wasn't life just fucking great? He couldn't be any more thankful that John was coming in the morning. He'd had his share of fucking females and wanted nothing more than to sit down and shoot the shit with his best friend over some beers. With that thought in mind he stomped up the stairs and got ready for bed.

* * *

><p>"John…..John! There's nobody here!" Trish called to her husband from the kitchen door. She had entered the house first to find the entire downstairs empty. Where the hell was everybody?<p>

"What do you mean there's nobody there?" John shouted back from the car around the corner. He suddenly appeared wheeling both their small carry on cases and stepped inside the house himself. "Oh," was all he said upon meeting the darkness. The blinds were shut with the only light streaming in from the open door. He set the cases to the side and pulled the blinds so that the large window was completely free to overlook the pool out the back and beyond. "There we go. I guess they're still sleeping, we are a little early."

Trish glanced at her watch and frowned. Even if they were early she still expected them to be up. She had talked to Stephanie on the phone just last night and she said she would be up to greet them. If she was still in bed she was going to kill her!

"I guess I'll go check in on Paul and you can go find Ste…." He trailed off upon seeing the woman in question walk up the sand hill and through the gate over his wife's shoulder. "Nevermind!"

Stephanie gently closed the gate behind her, still oblivious, until she lifted her head and spotted her friends standing at the door watching her. A huge smile erupted on her face and she happily bounded over to them. "Hey guys! Is it eleven thirty already?" she absently checked her watch before getting pulled into a tight hug from the tiny blonde in front of her.

"Nah, we're a little early. Surprise!" John chuckled as his wife finally let go and allowed him to give the brunette a quick hug of his own. "She thought you were still sleeping. I think she was going to go dump water on your head or something to wake you up!"

"Was not!" Trish huffed, frowning at him for all of a second before realizing that they were still one person short. "Where's Paul?" The sour expression that crossed her friend's face drew a snicker from her husband and she fought the urge to kick him in the shin. He had told her about his suspicions on the drive down but she hadn't believed him. Aside from the whole attacking incident, which she didn't quite believe anyways, Stephanie hadn't said much to her about Paul at all.

"Probably still sleeping. Maybe you should go dump water on his head instead."

Stephanie's cutting remark wasn't lost on either of them but she didn't care. She didn't know what to think when it came to her 'housemate' anymore, not after their little make out session in the hall the other night. Her prayers had been answered when he was nowhere to be found yesterday. She only wished today could be the same but there was no chance of that happening. John was here and he would no doubt be with him all day. Fuck. They hadn't even seen each other since the _incident_, as she now liked to refer to it as. This wasn't going to be awkward at all.

"You know what? That isn't a bad idea," John chuckled, lifting a water bottle from the fridge and making his way up the stairs to wake his lazy bastard of a friend.

As soon as he was gone Trish looked at Stephanie pointedly. When she got no response at all her pretty face morphed into a frown and she grabbed the other woman by the hand, sitting her down at the table while she opened the fridge and grabbed the first thing she saw; strawberries. With her mind moving a mile a minute she started grabbing bits and pieces, ice, lime juice and Bacardi, until she had mixed up two perfect strawberry daiquiris. She set one of the tall glasses in front of her brown haired friend and looked at her expectantly. "So?"

"Soooo…..yooouuuu…..still know how to make a mean daiquiri?"

"Oh cut the crap, Steph! The whole ride down, John is telling me all this stuff about you and Paul not getting along and I didn't believe him until just now when you suggested I go throw water all over him. What gives!"

Stephanie took a large gulp of the tasty drink, completely ignoring the fact that it wasn't even midday yet and rolled her eyes in annoyance. Let the interrogation begin. "What gives? I'll tell you what gives. Your friend up there gives me a fucking headache every time he opens his stupid mouth, that's what gives!"

Trish's brown eyes almost bulged out of her head at the utter bluntness of the statement. What in the hell was going on down here? "Paul? I don't believe you. He's one of the sweetest guys I know, Steph. I don't understa….."

"Are you fucking kidding me right now? He's one of the sweetest guys you know? Gimme a break!" Stephanie cut her friend right off in a somewhat infuriated fluster. Paul….sweet? Trish must be out of her mind! At that exact moment her eyes just happened to glance towards the cupboards and she caught sight of the note still stuck there which only served to enrage her even more. Taking another large gulp of the fruity drink, she exploded to her feet and ripped the paper down before throwing it onto the table. "You see this? Look at that and tell me he's _sweet_. The man wouldn't know sweet if he was baked in fucking candy. Calling me a psycho bitch when he's the one who's crazy!" A brief silence descended upon the women and Stephanie slowly came out of her angry haze and looked at her friend across the table just in time to see her burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh my God, Steph…I can't…this is hilarious…ahahahaha," Trish cackled, trying her best to hold it in but it simply wasn't happening. She read over the note once more and it set her off again, even worse than before. Her hand grasped at her stomach in pain as she doubled over in hilarity. She simply couldn't believe this. Paul was a cheeky bastard but that was part of his charm. There's no way he was doing this to hurt her feelings or be a dickhead. She refused to believe it but that wasn't even the best part. No. The best part was the fact that one Stephanie McMahon was absolutely and completely flustered over this man to the point of acting like a child. She had never seen her friend react this way to anybody before never mind a man. It was ridiculous but good God if it wasn't one of the funniest things she had ever seen.

"I'm glad this is all so amusing to you."

Immediately feeling guilty, Trish curbed her laughter and took a sip of her drink to quell the urge. Clearing her throat, she gave her best sympathetic gaze and tried to get the story on just what exactly was happening down here. It seemed like the heat was driving both of her friends up the wall. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Come on, let's go sit by the pool and you can tell me all about it."

Stephanie frowned but got to her feet anyways. The two women walked outside with their drinks in hand. "I really don't want to talk about him," she growled in annoyance. Well, part of it was annoyance. The other part was fear. Trish knew her like the back of her hand and the second she started talking she knew she would see right through her. It was already bad enough that _she_ didn't know what the hell was going on never mind bringing Trish into the whole thing. Besides, her friend clearly worshipped the ground Paul walked on and she wasn't sure she could sit there and listen to how great he was and how no doubt 'perfect' he'd be for her. She could smell that coming from a mile off.

"Well that's just tough shit. You can't just explode like you did and then expect not to talk about it," Trish stated before flopping into a sun lounger without spilling a single drop of the red liquid. She pulled her extra large sunglasses down over her eyes, took a large sip and looked at her friend pointedly. "Start talking."

* * *

><p>Paul swatted at the feather light tickling sensation on his neck for the third time in annoyance. This fly or whatever the fuck it was had better be gone or he was seriously going to take pleasure in killing the damn thing. A few seconds passed before the sensation returned and he rolled around, swiping viciously and letting out a string of expletives in the process.<p>

"Whoa!" John yelped as he felt the full force of his friend's hand come slamming down on his arm. "Easy there, man!"

"John?" Paul questioned, his sleepy eyes opening fully and taking in the sight of his bright eyed buddy standing before him. Was he dreaming? "What the fuck are you doing in here?"

"Why I'm here to wake your lazy ass up that's what I'm doing, something that isn't an easy task I have to say. You obviously haven't changed one damn bit from college you lazy bastard." The death glare that met him caused John to let out a jovial chuckle. He stood back and with a devious smirk, whipped the covers off the bed much to the other man's dismay.

Paul simply lay there looking at him with the world's most deadpan expression on his face. "Really? You're gonna come in here and pull this shit? I knew there was a reason I moved to California. It was to get away from you."

"Who's a grumpy boy in the morning?" John moved to tug at his check and received a prompt punch on the arm for his troubles. "Oh come on, Paulie! Stop being such a grumpy shit and get out of bed. Trish and Steph are down there waiting for you not to mention Trish brought some of her barbeque marinade for later….."

Within seconds Paul's head snapped off the pillow and he was on his feet. He hadn't had that sauce in years and his stomach had practically growled at the mere mention of it. "Really?"

"Yes, really. But you aren't getting anything unless you get ready and come downstairs NOW," John replied with a satisfied smirk. He knew the BBQ sauce would do the trick, it always did. "And by the way, put some fucking clothes on, will ya?"

"Don't be jealous because you don't have all this…" Paul swept his hand up and down his sparsely dressed, chiselled frame before scowling at the man before. He took in his shorts and t-shirt with a frown. "You getting chubby?"

John immediately frowned himself, giving a quick glance over his own form. "I am not getting fucking chubby. I do have a job you know. Not everybody gets to sit on their ass and do fuck all but work out like you."

Paul chuckled and absently scratched at his stomach, his hand snapping at the waistband of his boxer shorts. "Oh, but what a life it is, my man."

"Whatever, just get dressed and meet me downstairs, huh?"

"No problem, chubby." His insult was met with a one finger salute from his friend as he exited the room. This time Paul let out a hearty laugh at the reaction. Despite the early wake up call, he was glad to have John around. God knows he needed the distraction to distract him from….the other distraction currently sitting downstairs. Things were about to get really fucking messy, he just knew it.


	15. Maze

The sun was hot, its rays beaming down on everything below. The sky was clear and blue with not a cloud in sight. Paul took a long pull from his beer and set it on the edge of the pool. His hands then gripped the football floating in front of him before launching it to the other end of the pool where it was safely caught by his friend.

"So are you planning to get a job you lazy fuck?" John called as he fiddled the ball in his hands. He took a moment and fired it back as the two chatted whilst absently throwing the ball between them. They had been in the pool basically all morning drinking beers and catching up while the women took to the store to do God knows what.

"Of course I am," Paul replied. "I'm just….seeing where the wind blows at the minute, you know?"

"In other words, you're happy to be a bum and do nothing until your get this house finished?" John frowned and wiped the water off his chin when the ball came hurtling towards him and splashed into the water directly under his face.

"I'm not a bum."

"Sure man. Because not working and leeching off your best friend is something else completely."

His friend's deadpan expression earned him a dirty look as Paul reached for his beer again and took another long swig. He'd be drunk before dinner, not like it mattered since he actually was a bum. A slow smirk tugged at his lips. "Whatever."

John grinned at the lazy response. "Awesome comeback." This time he had to physically move out of the way when he saw the football coming directly for his head. He managed to catch it and within seconds it was thrown back, managing to knock the bottle of Coors right out of the other mans hands and spilling it all over the ground. "Fucking shot!"

Paul shook his head and let out a disappointed puff of air. "Seriously? You just wasted beer. You should know better than that." He pulled himself out of the pool and felt the hot sun immediately hit his wet skin.

"Where are you going?"

"To get another one of course." He walked to the cooler they had strategically wedged between the small side table and deck chair in order to shield it from the sun's rays and pulled out a fresh bottle. Just as he twisted the cap his stomach let out a grumble. "When did Trish say she'd be back, man? I'm fucking starving. Want another one?"

John pulled himself out of the cool water and joined the other man at the cooler. Accepting the bottle offered to him, he fell into a deck chair, twisted the cap and took a sip all in one motion. "I don't know. She just said they were going for a walk and were going to grab some steaks and shit for the grill. Why, you missing your girlfriend?"

"Fuck!" Paul cried as his eyes scanned the area quickly. When he knew it was safe, he instantly turned and glared at his buddy. "Don't say shit like that. You trying to get me killed? Jesus. If she heard you saying that somehow it would be my fault and she'd rip my balls off." He visibly shuddered at the thought as he sat down on the next deck chair and pulled his Lakers cap on. He waited….and waited….until finally letting out a shit eating grin at the loud yelp that followed.

"Get that thing off your head you fucking traitor!" John cried in horror and reached across in an attempt to knock the purple and yellow sign of his friend's betrayal to the ground. He was disgusted at the fact that he had even bought the damn thing never mind was wearing it. "Get it off! You aren't in LA anymore. That piece of shit is blasphemous around these parts."

"You don't like my hat?"

"OFF! And don't think I don't know what you're doing here by the way. How convenient for you to pull that out just when I start talking about Steph. I don't think so." John knew what he was up to and he wasn't getting away with it. He could ignore the Lakers…for now, while they talked about it.

Paul groaned and chugged his bottle angrily. "We're not chicks man. I'm not sitting here talking about this shit because there's nothing to even talk about. She hates my guts and tried to kill me when I first got here, end of story."

"You're such a fucking drama queen, God!" John rolled his eyes at the outburst. "Will you just man up and tell me what the fuck has been going on down here? I knew things weren't right when I spoke to you on the phone the other day and now this. Can you at least give me something to tell Trish when she inevitably quizzes me about it later? Please."

The desperate cries from his friend were amusing to him and Paul let out a low chuckle. "Man, Trish got you on lock, John. But…..since I'm such a good friend I guess I can let you in on a little something."

"Thank fuck!"

"I think she might be interested but I _know_ that she also hates me, can't stand the sight of me, feels the need to bite my head off every time we're in a room together and yes, no matter what anybody else says she DID fucking attack me in the kitchen. There. Take from that what you will."

John let the words sink in for a few moments before turning to face the other man seriously this time because it was a serious situation. Paul was basically his best friend. Even though he had been gone for all these years they still had that bond from college that would never go away. Now that he was back they were just settling into their normal routine again. But Stephanie was Trish's best friend not to mention a really good friend of his. He loved Steph and had known her for years now. Obviously he didn't want to see either of them get hurt and if what Paul was telling him was true, then their relationship was clearly very strained which wasn't good for anybody involved. "Can't you just…I don't know…not be a dick to her to keep the peace?"

"What!"Paul cried in enough shock to actually set his beer down. "Why the fuck are you assuming this is my fault? _She's_ the one with the problem, John, not me. Trust me." He was just about to launch into a tirade about their touchy feely session in the hallway when he stopped himself. John didn't need to hear that. In fact, nobody needed to hear it because he didn't know what the fuck it meant. Why were women such an enigma anyways? Seriously. It shouldn't be this hard.

"Because I know you, Paul and I know Stephanie. She's not this crazy woman you're making her out to be while you are and always have been a fucking smartass. I have no doubt that if there's shit between the two of you then you're most definitely the instigator," John tried to reason as well as he could. He loved Paul but he knew his friend and knew him well.

"Aren't I always?" Paul picked his beer back up and let the droplets of water run all over his fingers for a second before taking a long pull of the crisp, fresh alcohol. Fuck this conversation. He didn't want to talk about it. In the back on his mind he was beginning to think that beer wasn't going to be strong enough for when Miss McMahon got back here because then the real fun would well and truly begin, if you could even call it that. He was now going to be stuck here with a crazy bitch who kissed him like there was no tomorrow one second only to push him away the next and his two nosy ass friends. Great.

* * *

><p>Stephanie nervously wrung her hands and kicked her bare feet against the sand. She was sitting on the small wall that separated the walkway from the beach hoping and praying that Trish would buy her story. The prolonged silence told her that her blonde friend very obviously didn't.<p>

"Bullshit."

Of course she called bullshit because that's what it was. With a heavy sigh, Stephanie turned to face the other woman, her blue eyes pleading but it didn't work.

"Bull. _Shit_."

"Alright, alright!" Stephanie whined. They were clearly having this conversation whether she wanted to or not. "I'll talk."

Trish threw her hands in the air in exasperation and cried out loudly. "Thank you!" She shuffled on the wall to a position where she could easily see and read her friend's face before asking the question one more time but only this time she knew she would get a straight answer. "So, what the hell is going on with you two?"

Where to even start, Stephanie thought to herself. Deciding to just be honest about the whole thing, she simply shook her head and let out a soft chuckle at her own expense. "I don't even know, Trish and that's the truth."

"How can you not know?"

"I just don't! It's…we're…I…..fuck!"

The blonde could see the frustration and had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. For as long as she had known Stephanie she had never seen her at a loss for words about anything. Now here she was completely unable to form a sentence and over a man no less. Just what in the fuck had Paul done to her? She swore she was going to kill him when she got her hands on him. "Let's try that again, huh?"

"He fucking infuriates me, Trish. I can't explain it. It's like, he doesn't even have to say anything and I get mad just looking at him which is bad enough but then he has to go and act like _such_ an immature dick and I just….lose it. He thinks he's God's gift to women or some shit and actually had the nerve to bring some fucking cheap whore back to the house while I was there. Can you believe that? Then he goes and pulls the shit with the cupboards and don't even get me started on that smarmy fucking grin of his. Ugh!" Stephanie went on a rampage and by the end was left breathing heavily. Her blue eyes looked into the deep brown ones staring back and she felt herself getting angry at the confusion she saw there. "If you're going to start telling me how wonderful he is again then just save your breath, please, because I can't deal with that crap right now."

Trish let out a deep breath of her own. She just didn't get it. What the hell was the actual problem between these two? She loved them both to death but after listening to what Stephanie was saying it all sounded so juvenile to her. Clear away all the childish insults and playground games and what were you left with? In her mind, you were left with two people who clearly had the hots for each other except it was clear to anybody with eyes _except_ them. But she was actually rather afraid to say that out loud right now in case Stephanie fucking flipped out on her again. She'd have to go a different route and Paul would probably kill her for doing this but she knew he'd thank her later. Placing a hand upon the other woman's leg, she offered a gentle squeeze.

"Look, I'm going to tell you something here that I probably shouldn't and yes, you're going to get mad at me but I don't care because you really need to hear it." Upon hearing no refusal, Trish continued. "I think that the only logical explanation for all this is the fact that you're both attracted to each other but instead of acting like adults about it, for some reason, both of you have decided to act like brats."

Stephanie crossed her arms and practically pouted because everything Trish was saying right now was so fucking true it wasn't even funny.

"Now, I don't know what your deal is in all this, Steph, I honestly don't because I've never seen you react this way before but I think I can fill you in a little on Paul. I'm not lying when I say he's a sweetheart. He absolutely is, at least, he was. Back in college, we dated for like two or three weeks before deciding that we were much better as friends. He introduced me to John and the rest is history. But soon after we split he began seeing someone else, Emma, and they became an item. They were together right up until senior year and Paul was actually contemplating popping the question, Steph. He _really_ loved her." Trish took a break to gauge her friend's reaction and was pleased to see that she had her full attention. After clearing her throat, she continued. "Then a few months before graduation and to cut a long story short, he ends up walking in on her in bed with some other guy. It totally destroyed him and he took off to the other end of the country the first chance he got when he graduated in order to get away from her and start over again. He's acting the way he's acting because he probably really likes you, Steph and is putting up a wall to protect himself. It's what all men do, especially men as deeply burned as he was. Please tell me you get where I'm coming from here?"

A silence fell upon the pair until Stephanie finally nodded her head. "I understand what you're saying I just….don't know if I buy it. There's being an asshole and then there's Paul." Fuck, her head was all over the place after hearing that and it actually did make sense although she had no idea why he'd be afraid of her…..well, maybe she did but that was besides the point. And she wasn't about to throw him a pity party just because he got dumped by his girlfriend however many years ago. That was no excuse for being such a fucking mong all this time later.

"You don't have to buy it. It's just something for you to think about before you launch into one of your irrational tirades about how much of an ass he is," Trish countered and got to her feet, her hands taking hold of the grocery bags propped up against the wall. "We'd better get back and get this food put away before it goes bad and I'm sure the guys are hungry. Come to think of it, so am I!"

"Me too," Stephanie mumbled absently as she too got to her feet. She was hungry for food but she was also hungry for something else; the truth. It was high time she and the jackass had a heart to heart. She owed it to herself to at least try and make sense of this fucked up mess. Even if she tried to deny it and she could all she wanted, she knew in her heart that the feel of his body and his lips pressed against hers was something she wanted and she wanted it over and over again. She'd never experienced anything like that before. No man had ever turned her into a quivering wreck like that with his touch and truth be told, she'd never wanted to sleep with someone as badly as she did Paul. She wanted him with everything she had. It had to mean something. It just had to.


	16. Wish Upon A Star

**A/N - It's been over a year since I last updated this so feel free to call me a shit. It's deserved in this case lol. But the good news is, IM UPDATING! So here, enjoy, and hopefully it won't take another year to update again lolololol**

* * *

><p>"Could you pass the salt, please?" Paul asked to no one in particular. He just wanted to say something to break the awkward as fuck tension currently surrounding the table right now.<p>

Stephanie and Trish had returned around an hour ago yet had kept to themselves and organised the BBQ for dinner. Now the four of them sat, not speaking and eating in silence. Paul and Stephanie weren't speaking and hadn't spoken since their 'meeting' in the hallway while Trish and John were frankly too wary to strike up a conversation.

"Here you go."

"Thanks, Trish."

Back to the silence. Back to the awkwardness.

Finally having enough, John let out a weary sigh and lightly thumped his hands against the table. "So this is quickly becoming a bust, huh? Are you two ever going to talk or do we all have to sit here like mutes?"

"Tell us how you really feel, man." Paul glanced at him in part disbelief. What the fuck? If he wanted them to talk this was not the way to go about it. He chanced a quick look in Stephanie's direction and was pleased to see that she was staring at her food intently. She was obviously just as awkward as he was.

Trish had sat, quietly observing the scene before deciding to speak. Sensing that her husband was about to go off again, she lightly patted his knee under the table and warned him with her eyes. "How do you like the sauce, Paul? God, the last time you had it must have been years ago since you only came home for the holidays."

"I should have come during the summer one time because this is by far the best BBQ sauce I've ever had. Please don't tell my mom though. You know she'll kill me for that," he chuckled.

Trish laughed and took a sip of her wine. "Weren't you going to see her sometime soon? John tells me she's still at you about settling down."

"Isn't she always," Paul rolled his eyes but his attention was drawn to the loud scoff at the end of the table. Apparently Miss McMahon found something amusing. "Something funny?"

"Oh no," Stephanie cleared her throat and avoided his gaze. "Nothing at all."

Paul fought the urge to roll his eyes again. "Must be all that bitchiness making you laugh then."

"Well if you must know, the thought of you ever _settling down_ is quite humorous to me all things considered," she bit back acidly.

"At least you finally admitted that you think about me. Well done, Stephy, I think we're finally getting somewhere."

"I told you not to call me that."

"Would you prefer crazy or psycho or bitch or…."

"Fuck off, Paul."

"STOP IT!" Trish yelled, thumping the table emphatically and rising to her feet in a fury.

John sat there in stunned disbelief, something that he was eternally grateful for solely because he would have been laughing his ass off at that heated exchange if he wasn't. Jesus Christ did his two friends have it out for each other something ridiculous.

"Both of you cut this nonsense out _right_ now! I can't even believe you guys are acting like this when you are both _clearly_ attracted to each other," Trish fumed. Her eyes scolded everybody at the table, including her husband for the hell of it. Paul snorted loudly and she focused her gaze on him, immediately wiping the snicker off his face. "Don't you dare try and deny it, Paul. I know you. And I know you too," she continued, this time turning to face Stephanie. "The both of you need to figure this shit out. John and I are your friends and this," she accentuated by waving her hand, "this isn't going to work. I want to be able to spend time with both of you so you either stop lying to yourselves or start acting like adults and put this shit behind you. Let's go, John." She directed her final remark to her husband who was sitting in even further stunned disbelief.

"But I'm not finished din…."

"_Now_, honey."

Realising that it wasn't a question, John quickly stuffed a bite of chicken into his mouth before begrudgingly getting to his feet. "Thanks a lot guys," he mumbled under his breath before dutifully following his wife back inside the beach house.

The atmosphere at the table was beyond tense as Paul and Stephanie sat there avoiding eye contact like the plague. Finally having enough, Paul set down his napkin and sighed. "Look, why don't we just try and talk abou…" The harsh scraping of her chair brought his words to a quick stop.

Stephanie glared down at him and grabbed her purse. "I don't want to talk to you." Her words were simple yet effective and without a second thought, she pushed away from the table and walked towards the back of the yard, stepping out on to the pathway to the beach.

A bird chirped happily in the distance, now audible after the shouting match that had just preceded it, and all of a sudden Paul found it the most annoying sound in the world. He glanced around the now empty garden wondering what in the fuck had just happened. Talk about losing your appetite.

* * *

><p>A gentle sea breeze created goose bumps on her arms as she walked along the small pathway back to the beach house. Stephanie shielded her arms and let out a deep sigh. She had walked aimlessly after dinner and eventually stumbled upon a sequestered part of beach that was completely unoccupied. It surprised her considering the activity just a mile further down, not to mention its beauty. The secluded cove was exactly what she needed to just sit and clear her head. Stephanie had sat for a couple of hours just letting the sound of the tide wash away her anger. It was a pity she didn't have a similar coping mechanism in her everyday life or more specifically, when she had to interact with that juvenile fuck. And now he had gone and put a strain on her friendship with Trish. She could feel her blood beginning to bubble again as she thought about him. God. What the hell was it about this man that enabled him to infuriate her so much? A hot flash tickled her spine as the memory of them in the hallway crept into her mind once more. It was all the answer she needed.<p>

The wooden gate creaked lowly as Stephanie stepped through to the garden of the beach house. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the lone figure lounging on a deck chair staring up at the sky. Her heart caught in her throat when she realised who it was. Paul was lying back almost flat; the head of the bed tipped up slightly, and was staring up into the moonlit sky while a beer bottle hung loosely from his fingertips. He obviously hadn't heard her come in. Maybe if she tiptoed past he wouldn't notice her.

"Go on, Stephanie. I won't bother you."

His deep voice startled her and she absently shrugged her shoulders. She noticed the stash of empty bottles at the foot of the deck chair and briefly wondered how many of those he had gone through. It must have been a lot if he was letting her walk past without incident. Stephanie took a few steps towards the house but inwardly cursed herself when her feet stopped walking. So help her she would probably live to regret this but she had promised Trish, and herself, that she would try and figure this thing out. Maybe if she made an effort her friend wouldn't be so rough on her when they eventually spoke again. With a frustrated roll of her eyes, Stephanie took a seat on the chair next to him and swiped a fresh bottle of the beer from the cooler. She twisted off the cap and relaxed back into the chair, admittedly enjoying the look of utter confusion on his face as he sat up and stared at her.

"Is everything okay?"

Stephanie screwed up her face. What type of question was that? "What do you mean?"

"Well you actually chose to sit beside me. I'm just checking you don't have a fever or something," Paul responded, a hint of a smile playing with his lips.

The little grin that was threatening to spread across his face was infectious and Stephanie couldn't help herself. She laughed. She actually laughed and managed to look him in the eyes. "I'm fine."

He held her gaze, enjoying the light pink flush beginning to heat her cheeks and fixed the chair so he could sit level with her. "Just checking. So…"

"So…"

Both of them knew what they had to do but they were also reluctant to start. Paul looked to the starry sky and took a pull from his beer. "Sometimes I get so caught up in what's going on in the world that I forget to take a step back and appreciate it."

Stephanie sucked in a nervous breath. She didn't know….how to….respond to that. What the hell was he even doing? Being all philosophical and shit? He was supposed to be shallow and horrible, not deep and….and….so fucking gorgeous she wanted to jump him every second she saw him. Her blue eyes drew to the night sky and she sat beside him in quiet admiration. It looked beautiful up there; the sky a deep dark black while the stars twinkled and shone so brightly. She guessed the whole effect was accentuated by the reflection of the sea just a stone's throw away. Now who was being philosophical?

"You know the constellations?"

"I….only a few." She didn't know why but her heart had suddenly begun to hammer in her chest. Her eyes were glued to his neck as he looked up, once more taking a pull of his beer. His thick throat swallowed the liquid, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. Stephanie gripped her own bottle tighter. Her attraction to him was completely undeniable at this point.

"Orion….the seven sisters…little dipper….big dipper," he accentuated the last one with a quick wink as he turned to look at her.

"If you're about to make a dick joke then save your brea…."

Paul held up his free hand and chuckled lowly. "Steph! I'm not, I swear. Seriously, you have to stop thinking everything I do or say to you has an ulterior motive behind it." He said it knowing his actions were partly the reason for her reactions to him but even still, not _everything_ he said to her was meant in jest.

"No?"

"No." He fiddled with the label on the bottle as he spoke again. "Not unless you want it to." Paul lifted his head and was momentarily left breathless by the sight of her beautiful face. It gave nothing away. She simply held his gaze. He was tired of all the damn games. Running a hand over his beard, he sighed softly and just decided to jump in with both feet. "Like that night in the hall? I think you wanted it to then. We both did."

Stephanie's eyes briefly slid shut. She thought she was ready to have this conversation with him but now that it was actually happening, maybe she wasn't, not when her heart was racing like this. "Paul…."

"Just so you know I wouldn't have done it if I didn't think you wanted me to. Contrary to what you think, I'm not a total dickhead."

"I don't think you're a….."

"Yes you do," Paul chuckled. "You've told me enough times. Anymore and I might start believing it." He grinned into his empty bottle, letting his mouth rest against the rim for a second before setting it on the ground with the rest of its empty companions. The chair lightly scraped against the ground as he stretched his long body out and settled into a comfortable position.

She kind of felt like a bitch upon hearing his remark. He thought she thought he was a dickhead; a _total_ dickhead. Well she did think he was a dickhead, that part was true. But she thought he was an extremely hot dickhead and after this little conversation they were having right now, maybe just maybe, he wasn't a dickhead at all. That didn't mean he was off the hook however. This brief spell didn't cancel out all the other bullshit he'd pulled on her. "It's not like you haven't given me reason to think of you that way."

"That's true," Paul nodded. "But I'm not a guy who forces himself on a woman he doesn't think is interested. I guess I was wrong but I swear I didn't do that to annoy or embarrass you. I just…thought we wanted the same thing. Since things have only grown even more strained I guess I made the wrong call and…I'm sorry."

Stephanie was truly touched by his honesty. She looked across the short distance between them and saw nothing but sincerity in his eyes. He was being serious and she was also dangerously close to friend zoning or putting him off completely if she wasn't careful. Because she was interested. So fucking help her she was interested more than she'd ever let herself admit. "You didn't force yourself on me, Paul. The truth is…." she trailed off, practically unable to say the words out loud, unable to say what her body and so help her, maybe even her heart, were screaming for her to say. But she didn't have to say it as the feel of his thick fingers sliding through hers completely crashed any sense of focus. Stephanie stared at their joined hands, relishing the gentle warmth of his huge palm pressed against hers, before her blue eyes lifted and twinkled in his direction. He was making it easy for her.

"Look," he glanced up and pointed with his free hand. "Gemini. There's Lupus. And that big one over there? That's the moon." Her light hearted laughter and roll of the eyes brought a smile to his face. Paul gave her fingers a gentle squeeze and beamed at her when she squeezed back.

"How do you know all of this?"

"When I was little I used to lie out in the back yard at night with my Dad and look at the stars. He would tell me I'd be an astronaut when I grew up and send him a postcard from the moon," Paul smiled fondly at the memory, completely oblivious to the warm look that crossed Stephanie's face as he spoke. "I'm from New Hampshire so there were no city lights to blot out the sky. You could see everything so clearly, just like tonight. When I got older my Dad and I built a tree house and I became more interested in construction and design at that point. But we would still always go out there and soon I was able to point the constellations out to him instead of him to me." He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realise things had grown quiet. "I'm sorry. I'm rambling."

Stephanie found his almost embarrassed little smirk emphatically endearing and she settled into the fabric beneath her, resting their still joined hands on the table between their chairs. "You're not. You seem close to your dad?" Suddenly she wanted to know everything about him.

"Yeah. I'm close to both parents actually. I can't lie, I'm a total momma's boy…..."

Their laughter faded into the soft evening breeze while the stars twinkled above, enlightening their continuing conversation and carrying it into the night.


	17. The Subtle Morning After

**A/N - Little bit fillery but hey, it's an update, right? This could be nearing the end but I actually really enjoy writing it so who knows, I might drag it out a little lol. ENjoy...**

* * *

><p>Stephanie woke with a huge smile plastered across her face before she even opened her eyes. A satisfied moan engulfed the room as she stretched her long limbs under the covers, immensely enjoying the feeling that comes with a morning stretch. And on this particular morning she felt…invigorated, not to mention relieved. The memory of last night drifted through her mind, keeping her smile in place. She had finally, it seemed, worked things out with Paul and they had stayed up talking for hours. When it became too chilly to remain outside he had walked her to her room and didn't even make a move to kiss or touch her inappropriately. He simply kissed the back of her hand, a hand that he hadn't let go since the moment he took it, and bid her good night. It both pleased and bothered her all at once. After finding out more about him she wasn't even prepared to lie to herself any more. She was attracted to him and she was very interested; in him, in what he had to say and his past. The fact that he had opened up so much about his family and his life had really touched her and in turn, she had done the same. They now had a solid foundation upon which to build if they wanted to take things further. And that was a big 'if' because despite how far they had come, she still wasn't quite sure what to truly make of it all just yet; what to make of him. Stephanie had been fully expecting a kiss or even a little peck at her door last night. Instead he had acted the perfect gentleman. To put it bluntly, she was confused and couldn't get a read on him. It made her nervous to say the least.<p>

"God," she let out with a sigh as she sat up and shook her hands through her hair. The digital clock on the bedside table read 8:30am exactly. Why the hell was she up so early in the morning? Now the man was invading her sleep. So help her God she just didn't know how to deal with him but a light rapping on the door interrupted her thoughts. A second later and Trish poked her head through. "Come in, Trish. I'm awake."

"Hey," the blonde smiled tentatively as she sat down on the bed. "So…."

"Soooo….I'm amazed you're even talking to me after yesterday?" Stephanie finished for her.

"What? Of course I'm talking to you. I just felt that you and Paul needed a little shove to see what John and I so clearly see. Speaking of which, spill! You're still alive and in one piece and from what I heard so is Paul. Anything you want to tell me?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes and climbed out of bed, taking another long stretch."If you've already 'heard' then why do you need to ask me?" The narrow eyed glare she received in response made her chuckle. "You were right, is that what you're after? You were right, we talked, we made friends and then we went to bed."

Trish's narrow eyes immediately turned wide and she began wildly inspecting the room for evidence of discarded clothing or scattered sheets or thrown pillows or….

"Oh my god!" Stephanie exclaimed, quickly realising what her friend thought she meant. "Trish no! I meant that we went to bed _separately_ not that we fucking slept together. Jesus!"

"Oh," came Trish's almost disappointed reply. When she caught the now pointed glare aimed in her direction she shrugged her shoulders and held her hands up. "What? I just thought that's what you meant! Can you blame me anyway? Watching you guys together is like watching animals in heat or something. I swear if you just get it over with it will probably put you both out of your misery….Sorry."

Stephanie could barely believe what she was hearing and stormed to the en suite bathroom to begin brushing her teeth. "Uuuuu kno at? I…..id u jush come in here to accuuush e of being whore or…..i ont even kno what uuu want, ISH!"

"Ok. First of all, I didn't understand a word you just said and secondly, that was gross. Don't talk with your mouth all dripping of toothpaste like that."

Stephanie screwed up her face, an expression matched by the other woman standing before her, and pulled the toothbrush from her mouth. "I _said_… did you just come in here to accuse me of being a whore or….and then I said that…I don't even know what you want. That's what I said."

"Implying that you slept with one guy makes you a whore? Steph, and I say this as your friend, you really need to get out more. And I came here to tell you that we're leaving actually."

"What? Why?" Stephanie tried not to panic. They couldn't leave. That would leave her here with Paul…alone. Fuck. Exactly; fuck. That's probably exactly what they'd end up doing if they were here on their own. She could barely trust herself around him when they were at each other's throats. Now that they were being all civil and friendly and flirty she didn't stand a chance. What the hell was she even so nervous for anyway? She wanted to sleep with him. Hell she had been disappointed when he didn't even give her a peck on the cheek last night. Oh God, what the fuck was wrong with her?

Trish stared at Stephanie in confusion. "Will you calm down? It's Sunday. We were only here for the weekend and John has some things to tie up before work tomorrow. We're not all on vacation you know."

"I should have gone on holiday," Stephanie mumbled to herself in a huff, finishing up brushing her teeth and returning back to the bedroom. "What time are you guys going?"

"The guys went to the gym so whenever they get back then we're gonna head on. They've been gone a while actually so they'll probably be back soon." Trish stated as the two women headed for the stairs. When they reached the kitchen she passed a steaming mug of coffee across the table and took a seat across from her friend. "All joking aside, are you going to be okay here? If you really don't want Paul to stay I'll ask him to go and he will, especially if he knows he's making you feel uncomfortable." Stephanie's almost pained expression forced her to bite back a laugh. "Unless….you want him to stay?"

A childish pout formed on Stephanie's face. "Ughhhhh. I don't know what I want, that's the problem." She took a huffy sip of coffee and sat there almost petulantly. Upon the sound of chatter filtering into the kitchen from outside, deep male chatter in particular, Stephanie quickly straightened up and became insanely focused on the contents of her mug. She ignored the snicker from the blonde across the table as she waited for the inevitable appearance of her current change in attitude.

"I know this guy who knows a guy and yeah, I think he should be able to score us some tickets."

"That's great. Grab four and we'll get Dave and Orton to come, make a night of it."

"Make a night of what?" Trish asked before her husband was even in the room.

"Celtics game, Trish," Paul replied as an amused snicker already spread across his face. "That is if you'll let John come out and play with his friends. I know you like to keep that leash nice and tight around his neck."

"Whatever, man," John groaned already on his way to the stairs. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

His footsteps echoed through the ground but were quickly forgotten as Paul grinned and began the process of mixing two protein shakes in the blender. "He's so sensitive."

"Seems like you have a way of pushing people's buttons, Paul."

Stephanie rolled her eyes at the comment which had obviously been directed at her. She smiled falsely at Trish. "He's not the only one." She took a sip of coffee and this time her smile was teasing. "Since you guys have so much in common why don't you hook up?"

"That would be because I'm married my friend."

Paul had watched the exchange between the two women in amusement but felt compelled to speak at this particular juncture. "And also because I'm way more interested in you, Stephanie." The kitchen fell silent and Paul quietly grinned to himself as he continued making the shakes. Satisfied with both concoctions he opened the fridge door and set them inside. "I'm going for a shower. Tell John his shake is in there if he gets out before me." He wiped his hands on his shorts and just before exiting the room made sure to wink at Stephanie on the way out.

The two women listened as his footsteps drifted further into the distance before Trish let out a wicked guffaw and elbowed Stephanie playfully. "You hear that? I think he likes you."

Stephanie didn't even bother to hide her giddiness at his comment and instead smiled gleefully. "Well you know what? I think I like him too."

"Praise the lord they like each other! They actually like each other." Trish's theatrical thanking of the heavens earned her an amused snort but she continued regardless. "I think this is going to be a massive case of the 'I told you so's' because pretty soon I'm almost certain I'm going to be telling you that I told y…."

"Alright, alright! God you're annoying….."


	18. Road Trip

**A/N - So this is my way of making it up to you all for being unable to write the Motorhead GK you voted for. I held another vote for the next update and this won so here it is. Enjoy folks...**

* * *

><p>The house was quiet. It had been since Trish and John said their goodbyes over an hour ago. Stephanie sat by the pool annoyingly agitated and she didn't know why. Well, she did know why. Paul hadn't shown his face after bidding their friends farewell and it was frustrating her. She took a long sip of her ice tea and let out a sigh. She didn't know if she was cut out for dating any more. Not that they were even dating to begin with. But all this damn 'will he won't he', 'does he like me doesn't he like me', nonsense was too damn stressful. She'd be perfectly content to live out the rest of her days as a spinster with nine cats and a dog. Who needed a husband or even a boyfriend or kids or any of that stuff all the stupid people wanted? Not her. All she needed was to go buy some cats and she'd be set.<p>

"Hey."

The deep baritone of his voice sent a delicious shiver down her spine and suddenly all thoughts of cats and dogs flew out the window. Stephanie looked at him and was struck once again with that pang between her legs. It was actually starting to become embarrassing how much she was attracted to him. "Hey," she managed to reply, shamelessly checking him out from behind her sunglasses. He wore jeans and a white polo shirt; simple but the perfect complement to his ridiculous arms and perfect ass. Yes, this wasn't the first time she'd taken her time looking at him. In fact she rather enjoyed gawking at him when she could get away with it. So lost in her shameless staring, it took her a few moments to notice the clip case folder in his hand. It looked awfully official. "Going somewhere?"

Paul absently held out the folder and nodded his head. "Yeah, I got some business to tend to today actually." She tried to mask a frown but he caught it. Truth be told, he wanted to ask her to dinner or lunch today but he needed to check in on the house.

"Oh. Well I guess…."

"You're welcome to join me? It won't take long and we could grab lunch or something?" The invitation spiralled out of his mouth before he knew what he was doing. Way to go Paul, he admonished himself. Their first fucking date and he was asking her to accompany him on business. Moron.

Stephanie's eyes lit up. She wanted to spend time with him today and if he wanted her along who was she to refuse? "Umm, sure. Lunch would be great. Just let me change and I'll be down in a minute?" Her legs somehow managed to stay upright and not melt at the beaming smile on his face. He reached out and ran his hand along her forearm as she walked past him.

"I'll wait inside." Paul watched her disappear up the stairs, taking ample time to stare at her endless legs. So help him but those things would be the death of him. He'd much rather she spend all of her waking hours in a bikini but then again he didn't want anybody looking at her but him. God he was fucked in the head. And he was in desperate need of those damn legs. His fingers ached to touch them and he honestly didn't know how much longer he could go without getting physical with her. He'd never wanted a woman more in his life.

Ten or so minutes passed before he heard footsteps on the stairs. Stephanie appeared wearing a light pink summer dress and sandals. He was beyond thankful that she had decided to keep her legs on show because he pretty much needed to be able to see them all the time. Yep. That was a fact. "Ready?"

Stephanie nodded almost shyly at him as they headed for the small garage attached to the side of the beach house. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

She grinned at the mischievous little twinkle in his eye and clicked the seatbelt into position. "A surprise, huh?"

"Do you like surprises?" Paul asked over his shoulder as he looked out the back window and slowly reversed the car out. A few seconds later and they were on the road. He flicked on the air conditioning and glanced at her sideways. "You strike me as a woman who is pretty cautious about surprises so…."

"I do? What else do I strike you as?" She was curious to say the least. And besides gawking at him, flirting with him was one of her favourite activities in the world these days so she crossed her legs and relaxed into the soft leather of the seat. Her blue eyes looked at him while a small smile tugged at her lips. In the back of her head she couldn't help but think how right this felt. She was completely at ease around him which was some feat considering how things started out between them. But their little chat under the stars the other night had obviously gone a long way into mending things. And she couldn't be happier as they set off to God knows where.

Paul took his eyes off the road for a brief moment so he could give her an amused grin. She wanted to know what he thought about her. If she knew that fifty percent of the time he was thinking about her legs and the other fifty percent was spent thinking about what he'd love to do with said legs she'd probably slap him. "Let's see…well, you strike me as a hard worker which is probably why you've taken such an extended vacation. From what you told me you're a family woman and a big daddy's girl. I reckon your dad and your relationship with him have probably created some unfair expectations with regards to your love life. You fought tooth and nail to admit that there was even the slightest possibility that I wasn't an asshole which makes me think you've been pretty badly burned in the past. You're protecting yourself. You read Stephen King novels and seem to have a tendency for white wine, chardonnay to be exact, and you definitely have some sort of leg injury because your hand is always rubbing at your left knee when you don't even know you're doing it."

"Wow," Stephanie muttered, slightly alarmed at his uncanny yet accurate description. She stared at him in shock, her mouth agape. Talk about completely getting somebody wrong. He had obviously been paying attention to her right down to her choice in books! The man was a fucking enigma and she suddenly felt like the biggest idiot in the world for thinking he was a shallow jerk. There was so much more to him, that she knew now, and she was just sorry they wasted so much time at each other's throats.

"Is that a good 'wow' or a bad one so I know whether I need to drive to the nearest police station?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes in amusement. "Don't worry, you're safe. It was actually an impressed 'wow'."

"I've impressed you? Ain't that something."

"You have. And I guess it's my turn now, right?"

His eyes once again peeled from the road for a brief moment to look at her with mock indignation. "Pfft," he faux snorted. "I'd like to see you try." And he would. Paul was slightly worried that his in depth little study on her might have come on too strong but she didn't seem the slightest bit deterred. If she was able to give a similar read back then at least it showed she was interested in him. And despite recent evidence to the contrary, he was still a little unsure about their budding romance. He didn't think he was being too cautious either given the fact that she had smacked him in the head not too long ago.

The scenery out the window had slowly changed to an open road flanked by tall trees on either side but Stephanie never noticed. Her attention was solely focused on the smirking man to her left as she gathered her thoughts. "You enjoy antagonising people for your own amusement. You're also close to your family and have a deep admiration for your parents. I think you're a little bit annoyed at yourself because you haven't given your mother the one thing she wants from you yet and that your cavalier attitude towards women is all a disguise." She paused to gauge his reaction and was met only with a poker face. He was giving nothing away. "You act like you don't want anything serious when in fact you might be too scared to let it happen because you've also been badly burned in the past. You're obviously a gym freak yet you drink a lot of beer which I find amusing. And this house you're building is a personal achievement that you think will validate your life's work and at the same time help you realise a dream you've had since you were a child."

This time it was Paul's turn to be stunned into silence. He simply stared ahead and swallowed the nervous lump that rose in his throat. Was he that transparent? Or did she just have the ability to see him for what he truly was? He didn't know what one scared him more. Brushing it off, he glanced at her and mimicked her prior response. "Wow."

"Yep," Stephanie grinned. "And I think we've figured out where we're going." She was surprised it had taken her so long if she was being honest. Of course they were going to his house. Deep down she was actually pretty excited to see what it looked like and what his vision for it was. She had a feeling it would give her even more insight into a man that was quickly captivating her attention in just about every area that mattered. Paul was intelligent. He was funny and a bit of a cocky ass which admittedly she enjoyed. He was interesting and could talk about any topic under the sun. He was so much more than she originally ever gave him credit for and yes, he was absolutely fucking gorgeous. The more she got to know him the more attractive he became. "I wonder if this house of yours will measure up to everything I've heard about it."

"I never disappoint, Steph," he winked.

With a smirk on her face she couldn't help but think that she believed that statement, in more ways than one. And she couldn't wait to find out for herself if it was in fact true.


	19. When It Rains

**A/N - Thanks to all who voted in the poll. This your winner! I know where I want it to go, I feel inspired and determined to get it finished too so I fully intend on making it happen. I don't think there will be too many chapters after this, unless I get carried away lol. Enjoy...**

* * *

><p>Coarse, gravelly dirt crunched under her feet as Stephanie tiptoed around the various rocks on the ground. Clearly she hadn't chosen appropriate footwear for this little trip but she forgave herself considering it had been a surprise. It also meant that Paul, being the gentleman that he was, had offered his hand to keep her steady and now their fingers were interlocked as they walked from the car towards the half built structure up ahead.<p>

"Right now it doesn't look like much but…" Paul trailed off, suddenly incredibly nervous of what she had to say. He looked ahead and took a moment to observe the new additions that had been added since his last visit. The entire outer frame was complete but three quarters of the place was missing walls. There were the bones of a spiral staircase leading up stairs. The ground floor had mats and large wooden planks to cover the gaps since the actual floor hadn't been laid and Paul was confused to see that a small part of the upstairs area appeared to be lined with a floor already along with walls for support underneath. What the hell was going on there? He swallowed the little nervous lump at the back of his throat and turned to the woman next to him. "So the door will be right there."

Stephanie watched with interest as his free hand reached out and he started to physically narrate with various motions and movements as he described what would go where when the house was finished. She found it cute that he actually seemed a bit anxious and was constantly stopping to gauge her reaction. On purpose she nodded and smiled but didn't give too much away. It was enjoyable watching him squirm for a change.

"What…do you think?"

She let the question linger for a moment, her face sprouting into a gentle smile. "I think it sounds great, Paul. And I think it's amazing that you drew this up out of your head and now it's coming to life."

Paul couldn't stop the huge grin that encompassed his face. She liked it! "Thank you. Things were progressing really well but seemed to have fallen off a little. I should be up here more often. I guess I got distracted." By her. And from the little twinkle in her eyes she knew it too. He smirked at her expression and tugged on her hand. "Come on and I'll show you around."

He followed his statement with a dorky wink and Stephanie laughed. He had turned into this adorable, sexy goof. You want to talk about distracting? She was constantly in a battle with her self control to resist the urge to maul him every five fucking seconds. Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, a strange cackle erupted in the sky. Her blue eyes immediately shot upwards and in an instant her face was covered in large wet drops as the clouds let loose. "Oh my god!" she gasped and gripped his fingers tighter when he began jogging towards the unfinished structure.

"It's raining? Where the fuck did that come from?" Paul cried, slowing down so she could catch up and then quickly leading her in the direction of the one place there was shelter…other than the car of course. Fuck! Why hadn't he run towards the car instead? It was too late now. The heavens had opened and were pouring down around them. Paul stared up at the grey sky briefly. It was only as his head slowly shifted to look at her that he realised his current situation. It wasn't a bad one to be in at all in his humble opinion.

Stephanie smiled sheepishly as she caught his eye. Of course it had started raining out of nowhere and of course they had ended up in the only place able to offer them shelter. And now they stood, pressed together against the flimsy wall with the smallest of roofs to protect them from the deluge. Not that she minded for a single second. Her back was against the wooden wall and Paul was so fucking close it was hard to breathe. When his eyes locked with hers her breath stopped all together. She could feel his body heat. She could smell his delicious cologne. And he was looking at her with…she didn't know what it was but it was affecting her in all the right places.

"So that was unexpected," Paul said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"You're lucky or I'd be judging you. What type of guy takes a girl to a house with no roof when it's raining?" Stephanie teased, her eyes playful. But they grew dark at the way he was looking at her. He even licked his lip. Good God she was going to go insane over this man, she just knew it.

"This guy."

"Is that right? _This_ guy?"

"This guy right here, the same guy who right now is desperate to kiss you." He couldn't help himself. They were practically crushed together in this little tiny space. Her makeup was slightly smudged from the rain giving her this sexy look that was driving him nuts. He had to kiss her.

Stephanie felt her cheeks grow hot and her stomach pool at the low tone of his voice. Fuck, fuck, fuck! If she kissed him she was seriously liable to fuck him right here right now. She didn't know if she'd be able to control her burning desire for him. But it was just too good an offer to refuse. Her hand lifted to fiddle with the collar of his polo shirt and she raised her eyes to meet his, unable to hide her flattered smile. "So kiss me."

"Yeah?" He questioned with a soft smile, slowly leaning down. He could feel her breath on his face as she responded with a whispered 'Yeah' of her own before her eyes slid shut and she lightly tugged him the rest of the way there, their lips fusing together in a slow, passionate kiss. It didn't take long for things to get heated in a hurry. Stephanie gripped his shirt with one hand and wrapped the other around his neck, pulling him flush against her and enjoying the immense feelings it created. She tilted her head and eagerly opened her mouth to accept his waiting tongue. He kissed her deeply, his hands taking a firm grip of her hips and tugging them into his.

Internally Paul was dying. He wanted her with every fibre of his being. He'd never wanted a woman more than he wanted Stephanie. His body was on fucking fire and if he wasn't careful he could very seriously get carried away here. She wasn't helping matters either, not with the way she was slowly rocking her hips against his while she devoured his mouth. It took everything he had to break their heated lip lock but he did, reluctantly so. "I'm sorry."

Stephanie let out a satisfied sigh, giving him a final lengthy kiss before pulling back and slowly opening her eyes. "It's ok." She knew what he was doing, it was written all over his face. He was fighting it as much as she was and in that moment Stephanie knew that whenever it happened, this was going to be the best sex of her life. It had to be. The heat between them was electric and undeniable. She simply needed it but understood that it couldn't be here. That's why he had pulled away. He was trying to control himself just as much as she was.

"If you had any idea how long I've been waiting to do that you'd probably smack me."

"You did already," she grinned, referring to their brief but heated exchange in the hallway a few weeks back. "But if you wanted it so badly you didn't have to pay the Gods to make it rain and drag me all the way out here to do it you know."

"Very funny. I'll have to remember that next time I think about making some sort of grand gesture for you." He made an imaginary pen out of his finger and started writing on his palm. "Note to self, Steph doesn't like grand gestures. Also note to self, you can kiss her whenever you want."

She simply laughed and bumped his shoulder while at the same time the rain gradually came to a stop. Her eyes grew wide and she looked at him sceptically. "Should I be worried here?"

"Absolutely. I have the power to control the elements. Just wait until you walk over an air vent. Marilyn Monroe will have nothing on ya." With a wink he finally stepped away from her and without hesitation took her hand as they started the walk back to the car. "Steph?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I take you to lunch?"

"Are you asking me on a date?" Stephanie couldn't stop herself from smiling like an idiot. This felt so right and she simply refused to allow herself to ruin this. If that meant letting down her guard then so be it.

"Why yes I am asking you on a date." Paul's eyes were smiling at their banter but for a brief second grew worried when she didn't answer. He looked at her, his brow furrowed before his entire face relaxed and he let out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding in.

"I like Seafood."

She liked Seafood. "Seafood it is."


End file.
